And under either of those scenarios, how much did Chinese-government pressure and obscurantism constrain the availability of evidence for assessing one or the other?

President Emmanuel Macron of France hailed him as the embodiment of “freedom and the fight against obscurantism” against “the forces of hatred and barbarism.”

French President Emmanuel Macron wrote that Mr Rushdie "embodied freedom and the fight against obscurantism" and was the victim "of a cowardly attack by the forces of hatred and barbarism".

“This committee, characterized for its secrecy and obscurantism, cannot be considered the appropriate venue to investigate the alleged violence of human rights,” said Esteban Beltrán, Amnesty’s director in Spain.

“This committee, characterized for its secrecy and obscurantism, cannot be considered the appropriate venue to investigate the alleged violence of human rights,” said Esteban Beltrán, the director of the rights group in Spain.