Tehran, October 10, The Iran Project - Iran’s Deputy Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance for Cultural Affairs says following Iran’s boycotting of this year's Frankfurt Book Fair in protest over Rushdie's appearance as a guest speaker, the country’s stand won’t be opened in the Fair.  

Iran’s Deputy Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance for Cultural Affairs, Seyed Abbas Salehi, announced on Saturday that following Iran’s strong protest over the apostate writer Salman Rushdie’s invitation as a guest speaker at this year's Frankfurt Book Fair, the country’s stand will not be opened in the fair but the visitors will be informed of Iran’s objection to this anti-cultural action within the rules and regulations of the fair.

Iran’s Ministry of Culture issued a statement on Wednesday (Oct. 7) officially announcing its pull-out from Frankfurt Book Fair which is the biggest book and media trade fair in the world.

Salman Rushdie, the British Indian novelist and writer was sentenced to death by former Iranian supreme leader Imam Khomeini for insulting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in his fourth novel, The Satanic Verses, which was written in 1988 and sparked global protests by Muslims around the world.