Man convicted after burning Koran in public
The Crown Prosecution Service has been accused of reviving blasphemy laws after a man who set fire to a copy of the Koran was convicted of a racially aggravated public order offence.
Hamit Coskun shouted 'f--- Islam' and 'Islam is religion of terrorism' while holding the religious text above his head during a protest on Feb 13.
The 50-year-old, who was violently attacked by a passerby during the demonstration in London, went on trial last week, accused of an offence under the Public Order Act.
At Westminster magistrates' court on Monday, he was found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence of using disorderly conduct, which was motivated 'in part by hostility towards members of a religious group, namely followers of Islam'.
Robert Jenrick, shadow justice secretary, said: 'This decision is wrong. It revives a blasphemy law that parliament repealed.
'Free speech is under threat. I have no confidence in Two-Tier Keir to defend the rights of the public to criticise all religions.'
Blasphemy laws were abolished in the UK 17 years ago.
The CPS said that Coskun was not being prosecuted for burning the book.
They argued it was the combination of his derogatory remarks about Islam and the fact that it was done in public that made it an offence.
The CPS originally charged Coskun, who is an atheist, with harassing the 'religious institution of Islam'.
However, the charge was later amended after free speech campaigners took up his cause and argued he was essentially being accused of blasphemy.
District Judge John McGarva said, 'there was a real problem with the original charge, which referred to Islam as if it was a person, when it is not'.
He said, however, that the current prosecution was not 'an attempt to bring back and expand blasphemy law.'
He said: 'A decision needs to be made as to whether your conduct was simply you exercising your right to protest and freedom of speech or whether your behaviour crossed a line into criminal conduct.'
Katy Thorne KC, Coskun's barrister, had argued that even the amended charges against him effectively criminalised any public burning of a religious book and were tantamount to blasphemy laws.
'It is effectively chilling the right of citizens to criticise religion,' she said.
She said Coskun's actions were not motivated by hostility towards the followers of Islam but to the religion itself.
Judge McGarva, however, said he did not accept that argument.
Addressing Coskun, he said: 'You believe Islam is an ideology which encourages its followers to violent paedophilia and a disregard for the rights of non-believers.
'You don't distinguish between the two. I find you have a deep-seated hatred of Islam and its followers. That is based on your experiences in Turkey and the experiences of your family.'
Giving his verdict, Judge McGarva said: 'Your actions in burning the Koran where you did were highly provocative, and your actions were accompanied by bad language in some cases directed toward the religion and were motivated at least in part by hatred of followers of the religion.'
The judge ordered Coskun, who is currently claiming asylum, to pay a fine of £240.
The court heard Coskun, who is now in hiding, had to flee his home country of Turkey two and a half years ago to escape persecution.
He argued he was protesting against the 'Islamist government' of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Giving evidence, Coskun made a number of comments about Islam, including claiming the majority of paedophiles are Muslim.
Lawyers for the CPS insisted that Coskun was not being prosecuted for setting fire to the Koran.
Philip McGhee, for the CPS, said: 'He is being prosecuted for his disorderly behaviour in public.'
He added: 'Nothing about the prosecution of this defendant for his words and actions has any impact on the ability of anyone to make any trenchant criticism of a religion.
On Feb 13, Coskun, who is of Armenian-Kurdish descent, travelled from his home in the Midlands to the Turkish consulate in Knightsbridge.
He then set fire to the holy book and held it above his head, shouting, 'Islam is religion of terrorism'and 'f--- Islam'.
As he did so, a passerby attacked him and appeared to slash at Coskun with a blade and then began kicking him when he fell to the ground.
Although the man has admitted assaulting Coskun, he has denied using a knife in the attack.
The man, whose identity is subject to reporting restrictions, will go on trial in 2027.
The National Secular Society (NSS), which, alongside the Free Speech Union, paid for Coskun's legal fees, said the verdict 'jeopardises' free expression.
A spokesperson for the FSU said: 'This is deeply disappointing. Everyone should be able to exercise their rights to protest peacefully and to freedom of expression, regardless of how offensive or upsetting it may be to some people.
'The Free Speech Union and the National Secular Society intend to appeal this verdict and keep on appealing it until it's overturned. If that means taking it all the way to the European Court of Human Rights, we will do so.'
'Religious tolerance is an important British value, but it doesn't require non-believers to respect the blasphemy codes of believers. On the contrary, it requires people of faith to tolerate those who criticise and protest against their religion, just as their values and beliefs are tolerated.'
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