PEN America report that South African author ZP Dala has been taken to a mental institution in reprisal for her comments about Salman Rushdie during the Time of the Writer Festival in Durban recently.
Dala expressed admiration for Rushdie’s “literary style” and was subsequently attacked the next day, hit in the face with a brick and called “Rushdie’s bitch” by a group of men.
Rushdie himself responded on Twitter at the time, coming out in support of Dala.
Now, according to PEN America, the shocking news has come about that Dala has been put under “extreme pressure” by members of the Muslim community in Durban to “renounce her statement about Rushdie’s work” and “to make a public vow of religious loyalty to Islam”.
When she refused, she was apparently admitted to a mental institution.
PEN America has called for Dala’s “immediate and unconditional release” and has also called on President Jacob Zuma and the South African Authorities to “ensure Ms Dala’s safety and to prevent reprisals against her freedom of expression and thought”. Full story...
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Dala expressed admiration for Rushdie’s “literary style” and was subsequently attacked the next day, hit in the face with a brick and called “Rushdie’s bitch” by a group of men.
Rushdie himself responded on Twitter at the time, coming out in support of Dala.
Now, according to PEN America, the shocking news has come about that Dala has been put under “extreme pressure” by members of the Muslim community in Durban to “renounce her statement about Rushdie’s work” and “to make a public vow of religious loyalty to Islam”.
When she refused, she was apparently admitted to a mental institution.
PEN America has called for Dala’s “immediate and unconditional release” and has also called on President Jacob Zuma and the South African Authorities to “ensure Ms Dala’s safety and to prevent reprisals against her freedom of expression and thought”. Full story...
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