Salman Rushdie Receives the Disturbing the Peace Award From the Václav Havel Center

British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie, who was seriously injured last year during a speech in New York, has received the Disturbing the Peace Award from the Václav Havel Center. The writer's visit was kept secret until the last moment.

This was reported by AP.

Only a few people out of the hundreds present at the award ceremony knew about Rushdie's arrival. Most likely, the reason for such secrecy is that last year the publicist was attacked during a literary festival in New York, resulting in numerous stab wounds.

"I apologize for being a mysterious guest. I don't feel mysterious at all. But it made life a bit simpler," the writer noted.

Salman Rushdie dedicated most of his speech to his comrade Václav Havel. The Czech politician and public figure were one of the first government leaders to defend Rushdie after the writer had to go into hiding from the Iranian authorities due to his published book "The Satanic Verses," which faced sharp criticism among some Muslim communities.

A year after the publication of "The Satanic Verses," then-leader of Iran, Ruhollah Khomeini, called for Rushdie's death and offered a reward of almost three million dollars for the writer's death.

Today, in his speech on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, Rushdie called Havel his hero, emphasizing that he "could be both an artist and an activist."

"He inspired me, as well as many other writers, and receiving an award in his name is a great honor," said Rushdie.

It is worth noting that the "Disturbing the Peace" award is an annual award from the Václav Havel Library Foundation, which honors writers, who adhere to human rights values and have experienced persecution for their convictions.

In October, The Gaze reported that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) announced the award of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize to imprisoned Turkish human rights activist Osman Kavala.

The Turkish activist was arrested in October 2017 on charges related to his participation in the 2013 protests against the construction of Gezi Park in central Istanbul.