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Air Canada has banned Salman Rushdie -- winner of the Booker Prize in 1981 for his book Midnight's Children -- because the extra security required for him to fly could mean long delays for other passengers.
In 1989, Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had issued a fatwa against Rushdie for committing blasphemy against Islam in his book The Satanic Verses. While Iran has since then revoked the edict, some hardline groups have renewed calls for the writer to be killed.
According to Air Canada, a US federal aviation administration directive requires special security measures if the writer is on an airplane entering America.
The airline concluded the same measures would be required on flights within Canada, which could cause inconvenience to other passengers.
Agencies
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