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Telegraph
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Two-tier policing row over Palestine protester dressed as Holocaust victim
Scotland Yard has been accused of 'two-tier' justice after police ignored a Palestine protester dressed as a Holocaust concentration camp inmate. Jewish leaders and MPs criticised the 'religiously aggravated' outfit worn by Maria Gallastegui, in which she replaced the star worn by inmates with an Islamic symbol. They complained that the police failed to challenge a protest 'clearly designed to cause distress', but warned men 'waving Israeli flags' at a Palestine Action march they could be guilty of breaching the peace. Ms Gallastegui, 66, a full-time protester who gave up her job as a coach driver nearly 20 years ago for a life of activism, joined a protest against plans to ban the group Palestine Action after its activists attacked RAF aircraft with paint. Critics contrasted her treatment with that of Hamit Coskun, who was prosecuted and fined for a religiously aggravated public order offence after he set fire to a Koran outside the Turkish consulate in London. Free speech advocates argue that offensive behaviour should not be criminalised, regardless of whether it is committed by protesters against Islam, such as Mr Coskun, or against Israel. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said: 'We appear to have a two-tier blasphemy law in this country, which protects Islam from offensive references, but not others.' Alex Hearn, of Labour Against Antisemitism (LAAS), said: 'Dressing as a concentration camp inmate, with the yellow patch replaced by an Islamic symbol, has caused many people upset. 'This religiously aggravated performance appropriated and distorted the Holocaust and was clearly designed to cause distress. It's shocking that while police act swiftly on less obvious public offences, this blatant display went unchallenged at the heart of our democracy.' LAAS has written to Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, asking him to investigate the incident as a potentially religiously aggravated offence that had 'appropriated and distorted the Holocaust' and risked 'trivialising the suffering of six million Jews and other victims of Nazi persecution'. Ms Gallastegui has been arrested previously over the past two decades including during a protest for the right to protest in Parliament Square in August 2005. She previously lived in a tent in Parliament Square for six years after joining the campaign against proposals to change the law to restrict protests in front of the Commons and Lords. In 2021, she lived and slept in a 150 year old tree in Hackney to challenge the council's 'reckless' and 'irresponsible' plans to fell it to make way for a 600-home development. 'We are passionate people,' she previously told the BBC at the time. 'Any campaign that we can think of doesn't start overnight. There are a lot of underlying issues that the system is not dealing with.' A supporter of Julian Assange, the the Wikileaks co-founder, she was banned from going within 100 yards of Belmarsh prison after she damaged a wall in a mock jail break attempt while he was held in the jail. Ms Gallastegui used a drill against a prison wall, where he was held during his lengthy battle to avoid extradition to the US, next to a sign that said 'jailbreak in progress'. 'Priti Patel Save Julian Assange' was also sprayed on the wall during the stunt. She previously appeared dressed in the Holocaust outfit in a protest to support Kneecap, the Irish republican rap group, after one of the band's members was charged with a terror offence for displaying a flag in support of Hamas, which is proscribed as a terrorist group in the UK. At Monday's protest, Ms Gallastegui was pictured carrying a placard that said: 'We are all Palestine Action,' a message that could lead to criminal action once the group is proscribed. Anyone who is a member of or supports Palestine Action could face up to 14 years in jail once its proscription is enacted in the next fortnight. One Jewish observer said: 'One cannot help but conclude that if the police do not stand with us against this hatred, then they stand with those who hate us. There is no middle ground when it comes to abusing the memory of the Holocaust. It is done as a deliberate act of provocation and religious division.' Ms Gallastegui issued a statement, saying: 'Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp was liberated by the British Army in 1945 following WW2. 'The world was shocked and horrified at the appalling sight of the starving, emaciated prisoners and the piles of decaying bodies in their stripped uniforms. 'Afterwards, the international community affirmed never to let this happen again. 'Never Again'. Fast forward to now, and the same scenario is being carried out again - but this time the concentration camp and the people being deliberately starved are the people of Gaza. 'This is a history lesson for now, and by no means is it meant to be anti-Semitic. Changing the symbols of the yellow star to the crescent and star is simply to illustrate that point.'
Daily Mail
14-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Man charged over 'threat to behead' protester who set Koran alight outside Turkish consulate
A man who allegedly threatened to behead a protester who set a Koran alight has been remanded in custody. Muhammad Naasir Attaari, 49, was charged with threatening to kill Hamit Coskun after he burned the Muslim holy book outside the Turkish consulate in London on February 13. He is accused of telling an Asda employee that he would behead Coskun and he was later arrested after the staff member reported him to the police, according to the Daily Telegraph. Mr Attaari, originally from Blackburn, Lancashire, appeared in Westminster Magistrates' Court, wearing a white cap and a black hoodie and entered no pleas. He is also charged with three counts of possessing a bladed article in a public place. 'With regard to the threats to kill, it has taken place at an Asda store,' Prosecutor Rizwan Amin told the court. 'A member of staff approached him and interacted with this defendant. 'On one particular occasion, there was dialogue between both parties, in particular that someone had burned a Koran, the holy book.' District Judge John Zani told him: 'You face a number of serious offences too serious to be dealt with in this court.' He was remanded in custody and his case was sent to Isleworth Crown Court where he will appear on July 10. Coskun, 50, was convicted of a religiously aggravated public order offence earlier this month in Westminster Magistrates' Court after setting fire to a copy of the Koran. He shouted 'f*** Islam', 'Islam is religion of terrorism' and 'Koran is burning' while holding the flaming Islamic text above his head, and was ordered to pay £240 as a result of his conviction. He was found guilty of a public order offence motivated by 'hostility towards members of a religious group, namely followers of Islam'. Coskun was also convicted of using disorderly conduct 'within the hearing or sight of a person likely to have caused harassment, alarm or distress', contrary to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986.
Telegraph
13-06-2025
- Telegraph
Man, 49, charged with threats to kill Koran burner
A man that allegedly threatened to behead another man who set a Koran alight has been remanded in custody. Muhammad Naasir Attaari is accused of telling an employee in an Asda store that he would behead Hamit Coskun, who burned the Muslim holy book outside the Turkish consulate earlier this year. The 49-year-old was reported by the Asda employee. Mr Attaari wore a white Islamic skull cap and black hoodie in court, with a long grey-and-black beard. Westminster magistrates' court heard he is charged with threatening to kill Coskun, who shouted abusive comments about Islam and burned a Koran outside the Turkish consulate in Knightsbridge, central London, in February. Mr Attaari is also charged with three counts of possessing a bladed article in a public place. Coskun, 50, was convicted at the same court earlier this month of a religiously aggravated public order offence of using disorderly conduct, and fined a total of £336. Coskun, who is Kurdish and Armenian, was said to have travelled from his home in Derby to set fire to the Muslim holy book. In a statement released following his court case, he said his conviction had been 'an assault on free speech, and will deter others from exercising their democratic rights'. Mr Attaari, who the court heard is originally from the Blackburn area of Lancashire, entered no pleas at the hearing and his case was sent to Isleworth Crown Court. Prosecutor Rizwan Amin told the court: 'With regard to the threats to kill, it has taken place at an Asda store. 'A member of staff approached him and interacted with this defendant. 'On one particular occasion, there was dialogue between both parties, in particular that someone had burned a Koran, the holy book.' District Judge John Zani asked about the intended victim of the alleged threat. 'It's somebody who was in the news,' Mr Amin continued. 'He is not known [to the defendant].' The court heard that police visited Mr Attaari's address in Northolt and were about to leave, as he wasn't in, when the defendant arrived home and approached officers. Remanding Mr Attaari into custody until his next appearance at Isleworth Crown Court on July 10, Judge Zani told him: 'You face a number of serious offences too serious to be dealt with in this court.'
Daily Mail
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
MPs attempt to block 'blasphemy law' by exempting criticism of religion from harassment legislation after conviction of man who burned Koran
A group of MPs will today attempt to ensure there is a 'right to criticise any and all religions' following claims that a 'blasphemy law' is being revived. Nick Timothy, the Tory MP for West Suffolk, will introduce a private member's bill to the House of Commons in a bid to expand protections to insult religions. He is being backed by 10 other Conservative MPs, as well as former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe who now sits as an independent. The Freedom of Expression (Religion or Belief System) Bill seeks to make clear that criticising religion should be exempt from harassment laws. It states the provision of the Public Order Act should not apply in the case of 'discussion, criticism or expressions of antipathy, dislike, ridicule, insult or abuse of particular religions or the beliefs or practices of their adherents'. England and Wales last had blasphemy laws in 2008, when they were repealed, while they were abolished in Scotland in 2021. But recent cases have prompted claims that blasphemy law still, in effect, exists. Last week, Hamit Coskun was found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence. He shouted 'f*** Islam', 'Islam is religion of terrorism' and 'Koran is burning' while holding the flaming religious text aloft outside the Turkish consulate in London 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'. He was convicted 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'. In a separate case, Martin Frost, 47, from Manchester, has been charged with a religiously aggravated public order offence after allegedly burning a Koran. Mr Timothy told The Times: 'The Public Order Act is increasingly being used as a blasphemy law to protect Islam from criticism. 'The Act was never intended to do this. Parliament never voted for this, and the British people do not want it. 'To use the Public Order Act in this way is especially perverse, since it makes a protester accountable for the actions of those who respond with violence to criticism of their faith. This is wrong, and it destroys our freedom of speech. 'We should be honest that the law is only being used in this way because the authorities have become afraid of the violent reaction of mobs of people who want to impose their values on the rest of us. 'My bill will put a stop to this and restore our freedom of speech - and our right to criticise any and all religions, including Islam.' A Government spokesman said: 'This Government will protect free speech, and will not introduce blasphemy laws. 'We are proud to have a society where freedom of religion sits alongside the freedom to criticise religion and will continue to preserve this.'
Telegraph
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
State is ‘stifling criticism of Islam over fear of violent mobs', says Tory MP
The state is stifling criticism of Islam because of fears of a violent mob reaction, a senior MP has claimed. Nick Timothy, a front-bench Tory MP, issued the warning ahead of his Bill aimed at protecting free speech and the right to criticise religions, including Islam, being presented before Parliament on Tuesday. It follows the conviction of Hamit Coskun, 50, for setting fire to a Koran outside the Turkish consulate in London earlier this year while declaring that Islam was a 'religion of terrorism'. He was found guilty of committing a racially aggravated public order offence during a peaceful protest. Politicians and free speech campaigners claimed the 'grotesque' prosecution was an attempt to revive long-abolished blasphemy laws. In an attempt to prevent future prosecutions, Mr Timothy, who is a columnist for The Telegraph, is proposing a Freedom of Expression (Religion) Bill that would rewrite the Public Order Act to prevent it being used as a 'de facto' blasphemy law. His bill, which is co-signed by 11 other MPs, would extend legal provisions – which protect the freedom to criticise religion in specific circumstances – to the whole of the Public Order Act. 'The Public Order Act is increasingly being used as a blasphemy law to protect Islam from criticism. The Act was never intended to do this. Parliament never voted for this, and the British people do not want it,' said Mr Timothy. 'To use the Public Order Act in this way is especially perverse, since it makes a protester accountable for the actions of those who respond with violence to criticism of their faith. This is wrong, and it destroys our freedom of speech. 'We should be honest that the law is only being used in this way because the authorities have become afraid of the violent reaction of mobs of people who want to impose their values on the rest of us. 'My Bill will put a stop to this and restore our freedom of speech – and our right to criticise any and all religions, including Islam.' At Westminster magistrates' court, Coskun 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'. Coskun, who is an atheist of Armenian-Kurdish descent, attended the Turkish Consulate on Feb 13 while holding a burning copy of the Koran above his head and shouting 'F---- Islam' and 'Islam is religion of terrorism'. He was ordered to pay £240, but despite the conviction he has pledged to continue burning Korans and intends to go on a tour of the UK, visiting Birmingham, Liverpool and Glasgow where he will set fire to the holy book. It is unclear whether he will resist doing so until the case is heard at the Court of Appeal where it will be decided whether he is able to challenge Monday's verdict.
