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The International Publisher’s Association (IPA) has issued a statement after the case against those accused of shooting publisher William Nygaard was dismissed.
Nygaard formerly helmed the Norwegian publishing house Aschehoug. In 1993, Aschehoug and Nygaard published The Satanic Verses in Norway, just three weeks after Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against its author Salman Rushdie. Four years later, in 1993, Nygaard was shot three times outside his home. Many linked the shooting to Nygaard’s work with Rushdie.
This week (9th April 2024), the Oslo District Attorney’s Office dismissed the case regarding the attempted murder. Charges against two individuals were filed in 2018, 25 years after the shooting and 20 years after the case had originally closed. Yesterday’s decision cited insufficient evidence for both of the accused as justification.
In response to the dismissal, IPA secretary general José Borghino said: “It is unfortunate to see that the attempted murder of a publisher, an attempt driven by a book they published, has reached a dead end in the courts. Freedom of expression needs brave publishers and we should protect and encourage them. This attack on the freedom to publish was flagrant and clearly aimed at silencing authors, publishers and translators. It shook publishing when it happened, and it is sad to see this failure to hold those responsible to account.”
The Norwegian Publishers Association had previously said it was “shocked” by the decision in a statement released online. It continued: “This is not an individual case against an individual citizen, but a case for freedom of expression in Norway.”