Police in Scotland said on Sunday they are investigating reports of an online threat made against author JK Rowling after she tweeted in support of Salman Rushdie.
The chilling threat against the Harry Potter creator came after she posted that she was “feeling very ill right now. Let him be ok” on Friday, in reference to Rushdie, who was stabbed while giving a lecture in upstate New York.
“Don’t worry, you’re next,” one Twitter user replied to Rowling’s post.
A Scottish Police spokesman said: “We have received a report of an online threat and officers are investigating.”
Rowling also confirmed Saturday that police officers were involved after her shared screenshots of the ominous tweet and another from the same user praising the man who allegedly assaulted Rushdie.
Rowling was threatened on Twitter for her support of Rushdie.
Rowling urged Twitter to follow the threat.
The account, which uses the name Meer Asif Aziz, called the stabbing suspect Hadi Matar a “revolutionary Shia fighter.” [who] followed the fatwa of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini” regarding an order by the late Iranian leader directed against the author of The Satanic Verses.
Rowling, 57, also shared a screenshot showing that she had reported the user to Twitter, but was told no action would be taken as “no violations of the Twitter Rules were identified in the content you reported.” became”.
“Those are your guidelines, right? “Violence: You must not threaten violence against any person or group of people. We also prohibit the glorification of violence…” she wrote in a rebuke on the social media site.
The account appeared be suspended from Sunday afternoon.
Salman Rushdie was stabbed to death while giving a lecture in western New York. Getty Images
Since 1989 there has been a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill AP’s Rushdie
The film company behind the Harry Potter films, Warner Bros Discovery, condemned the threats against Rowling “in the strongest terms”.
“We stand by her and all writers, storytellers and creators who are bold in expressing their creativity and opinions,” the company said in a statement, according to the Guardian.
“WBD believes in freedom of expression, peaceful discourse and support for those who voice their views in public.”
It added: “Our thoughts are with Sir Salman Rushdie and his family following the senseless act of violence in New York. The company strongly condemns any form of threat, violence or intimidation where opinions, beliefs and thoughts may differ.”
Hadi Matar is said to be the man who stabbed Rushdie Friday. AP
Rushdie, 74, was off a ventilator and recovering after Friday’s attack at the Chautauqua Institution that damaged his liver and severed nerves in his arms.
Alleged perpetrator Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey, pleaded not guilty Saturday to counts of attempted murder and assault in what a prosecutor described as a “directed, unprovoked, preplanned assault.”
In 1989, Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie after claiming that his novel The Satanic Verses mocked the religion.
With mail wires