Albawaba.com
Damascus
A statement circulated recently in Damascus by anonymous persons denied that novelist Nabil Suleiman was attacked by Islamists or any other group, accusing the man of fabricating the story “to promote his unpopular works.”
The statement, of which Albawaba.com received a faxed copy on Friday, said that a statement allegedly issued by Islamists claiming responsibility for the attack on the writer last week because of “ the immoral content in his novels” was also made up by Suleiman.
The novelist’s daughter had confirmed to Albawaba.com that her father was beaten by anonymous assailants, and linked the incident to the pro-reform activities of her father, who hosted a forum at his house in Latakia which was attended intellectuals calling for freedom of speech and liberalization of the economy.
The anonymous statement, believed to be sent by people in the publishing industry, raised questions about certain facts to support their argument.
Why was Suleiman admitted to the ICU in a luxurious hospital, rather than the emergency room in a public hospital: the usual procedure?
How could a patient under intensive care give statements to the press?
Citing eyewitnesses, the writer(s) of the statement asserted that the novelist had only minor bruises that did not necessitate intensive care.
Suleiman is considered a neo-leftist novelist who has published a number of controversial novels.
