A man who burned a Koran outside the Turkish consulate in London has branded his prosecution “an assault on free speech” as campaigners argued the ruling “signals a concerning capitulation to Islamic blasphemy codes”.
Hamit Coskun was found guilty on Monday of a religiously aggravated public order offence, having shouted “f*** Islam”, “Islam is religion of terrorism” and “Koran is burning” while holding the flaming religious text aloft earlier this year.
The 50-year-old had argued his criticism was of Islam in general rather than its followers, but District Judge John McGarva said he could not accept this, finding that Coskun’s actions were “highly provocative” and that he was “motivated at least in part by a hatred of Muslims”.
Coskun was convicted at Westminster Magistrates’ Court of a religiously aggravated public order offence of using disorderly behaviour “within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress”, motivated by “hostility towards members of a religious group, namely followers of Islam”, contrary to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and section five of the Public Order Act 1986.
Turkey-born Coskun, who is half-Kurdish and half-Armenian, travelled from his home in the Midlands to carry out the act in Rutland Gardens, Knightsbridge, on February 13 and in court argued he had protested peacefully and burning the Koran amounted to freedom of expression.
His legal fees are being paid by the National Secular Society (NSS) and the Free Speech Union (FSU), both of which criticised the ruling and said they intend to appeal “and keep on appealing it until it’s overturned”.
In a statement issued through the FSU, Coskun said: “This decision is an assault on free speech and will deter others from exercising their democratic rights to peaceful protest and freedom of expression.
“As an activist, I will continue to campaign against the threat of Islam.
“Christian blasphemy laws were repealed in this country more than 15 years ago and it cannot be right to prosecute someone for blaspheming against Islam. Would I have been prosecuted if I’d set fire to a copy of the bible outside Westminster Abbey? I doubt it.”
