Mohsen Gharavian said: “Salman Rushdie is a mercenary of the world arrogance… Years has passed since Khomeini made the ruling but the decree continues to remain live and valid and no one except the person in the position of Velayat-e faqih cannot rescind it.”
The death verdict against Salman Rushdie was issued by the Iranian regime’ founder, Khomeini, for writing a novel.
Cleric Mohsen Gharavian made the remarks in the city of Qum on the anniversary of the death verdict, state-run news agency ISNA reported.
In December 1990, two days after Rushdie renounced his novel, Ali Khamenei, then and the current Supreme Leader of the regime issued a statement describing Rushdie as an apostate.
Ali Khamenei said that Khomeini ruled before his death that the edict against Rushdie would remain in place even if the author repented and that Khomeini’s order therefore still stands.
