Khomeini Sues 3 Yugoslavs Under ‘Public Humiliation’ Law
Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini has filed a criminal complaint against three Yugoslavs for criticizing his order that author Salman Rushdie be killed for writing “The Satanic Verses,” a newspaper reported.
The complaint was filed with the Belgrade district attorney’s office under a section of the Yugoslav criminal code that forbids “public humiliation” of foreign countries or their leaders, the daily Borba reported Friday. The penalty for violating the law is up to three years imprisonment.
The newspaper said the complaint was filed against Stanislav Marinkovic, editor of Borba; Vesna Roganovic, a journalist for the paper, and Slobodan Selenic, a popular Yugoslav author.
Selenic, head of the Yugoslav Writers’ Union, was sued because of a statement to Borba last month about “Khomeini’s frightening threat” against Rushdie, the newspaper said. Marinkovic and Roganovic were cited for allowing the novel to be published, the newspaper said.
Borba said several Yugoslav lawyers are representing Khomeini.
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