Latest news with #publicOrderOffence
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Man convicted of burning Koran and shouting 'f*** islam' outside Turkish embassy admits he is 'very worried' that he may now end up being killed
A man who was convicted of a public order offence for burning a copy of the Koran outside the Turkish consulate while shouting 'f*** Islam' says he has received 'hundreds' of death threats since his protest and is 'afraid of being killed'. Hamit Coskun, 50, was ordered to pay £240 and a statutory £96 surcharge on Monday after screaming 'Koran is burning' and 'Islam is religion of terrorism' while holding a flaming copy of the religious Islamic text above his head, in a controversial demonstration earlier this year. During his protest - which took place on February 13 in Knightsbridge - he was attacked by a man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, who was allegedly holding a knife. The man then spat at and kicked Mr Coskun. Two days later on February 15 Mr Coskun's home was broken into by two Iraqi men who threatened him with an ashtray and a knife. Following this, Mr Coskun was placed under police protection for two days and was then forced to flee the city he was living in. Since then Mr Coskun has received scores of abusive messages and death threats which have left him fearing for his life. Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, Turkish born Mr Coskun, who is half Armenian and half Kurdish, said: 'My social media accounts and phonebook are full of death threats from [people based in] cities like London and Birmingham. Hamit Coskun leaving Westminster Magistrates' Court, central London, where he was sentenced to a £240 fine, with a statutory surcharge of £96 after he was found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence of using disorderly behaviour when a Koran was burnt outside the Turkish consulate in London on February 13 'Like everyone else, I am afraid of being killed [and] I am very worried because I know that I may face security risks. 'This is the reality of the "religion" we call Islam. 'It does not respect different beliefs and cultures, it does not recognize the right to life. 'But I am not a coward. 'I am ready to pay the price.' Social media posts sent to Mr Coskun and seen by the Daily Mail include one that states: 'You should sacrifice yourself to Koran. You will die'. Another says: 'Hail to the courageous man who will make your corpse lie down on the ground.' Mr Coskun, a committed atheist, was forced to flee his home country of Turkey two and a half years ago. He is currently seeking asylum in the UK. When asked whether he felt protected in Britain Mr Coskun admitted: 'What really worries and upsets me is the attitude of the police [because] unfortunately, the police don't care. 'After returning from London on February 15, I was attacked by two Iraqi Muslims in Derby. 'Despite being arrested, they were released within a day [so] I had to change my address for security reasons. 'I am not [currently] under police protection and [when] I told them I felt unsafe they said there was nothing they could do.' Earlier this week politicians, including opposition leader Kemi Badenoch, as well as leading free speech campaigners slammed the conviction of Mr Coskun warning that the ruling was a blasphemy law by the back door. Defiant, Mr Coskun has said that he plans to appeal the decision - with the help of the National Secular Society [NSS] and the Free Speech Union [FSU] who are covering his legal fees. He said: 'I am grateful to the NSS and FSU, who have stood by me on this issue and have supported me unconditionally. 'The court ruling is an unjust decision. The ruling will only please and satisfy Islamists. They are trying to clamp down on freedom of expression.' 'I am an activist. I criticize Islam. I think that Islam poses a threat to the whole world. '[While protesting] I remain within democratic measures. 'I do not interfere with anyone. This is my democratic right [and] I will continue my struggle. 'This does not necessarily mean burning the Quran [but] I will use my right to protest wherever Islamists pose a threat. 'I do not intend to harm or disturb anyone. I am trying to raise awareness in society about the concept of Islamic invasion and threat.'
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Hamit Coskun fined after burning a copy of the Quran in London
A man who burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish consulate in London has been found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence. Hamit Coskun, 50, shouted abusive comments about Islam as he held the flaming book aloft in Rutland Gardens in Knightsbridge on 13 Monday he was found guilty at Westminster Magistrates Court of the offence and of using disorderly behaviour, and fined £240 with a statutory surcharge of £ Judge John McGarva said Coskun's conduct was "provocative and taunting" and told him "you have a deep-seated hatred of Islam and its followers". 'Highly provocative' Turkey-born Coskun, who is half Kurdish and half Armenian, travelled from his home in Derby and set fire to the Quran at around 14:00 GMT, the court judge said Coskun's hatred of Islam had stemmed from his experiences in Turkey "and the experiences of your family".He said: "It's not possible to separate your views about the religion to your views about the followers."Your actions in burning the Quran 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."Judge McGarva said he "did not accept" Coskun's claim that his criticism was of Islam in general and not its had posted on social media that he was protesting against the "Islamist government" of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who the defendant allegedly said had "made Turkey a base for radical Islamists and is trying to establish a Sharia regime", prosecutors said. Appeal against verdict Coskun said in a statement that his conviction was "an assault on free speech and will deter others from exercising their democratic rights".A Humanists UK spokesperson said the case does "raise concerns" and the bar for prosecutions is too said: "When blasphemy laws were repealed in 2008, it was a victory for freedom of expression. "We must make sure that public order legislation is not used to disproportionately target speech – even offensive speech – on religious matters, thereby chilling legitimate criticism and expression."Judge McGarva said he did not view the case as an attempt to expand blasphemy laws. He said that burning a religious book, although offensive to some, was not necessarily disorderly, but that other factors (including Islamophobic comments made in police interviews) made it so on this legal fees are being paid for by the National Secular Society and the Free Speech Union (FSU), which said they intend to appeal against the verdict "and keep on appealing it until it's overturned".An FSU spokesperson said: "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."
Sky News
3 days ago
- General
- Sky News
Man convicted after burning Koran outside Turkish consulate in London
A man has been found guilty of an offence after burning a Koran outside the Turkish consulate in London, in a case that sparked debate over the freedom of expression. Hamit Coskun was accused of shouting "f*** Islam" and "Islam is religion of terrorism" as he held up a burning copy of the holy Islamic text in Knightsbridge, London, in February. He was found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence and ordered to pay a £240 fine, with a statutory surcharge of £96. Delivering the verdict, district 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 National Secular Society (NSS), which jointly with another organisation paid his legal fees, called it a "significant blow to freedom of expression". The 50-year-old denied 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 the Public Order Act 1986. He had also pleaded not guilty to an alternative charge of using disorderly behaviour "within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress", contrary to section five of the Public Order Act 1986. The charges were alternative, meaning only one or the other would apply, but not both. Prosecutors said Coskun had written on social media he was protesting the "Islamist government" of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had "made Turkey a base for radical Islamists and is trying to establish a Sharia regime". Mr Erdogan, who has been in power for over 20 years, leads the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which, while created from former Islamist movements and having a strong religious base, describes itself as a conservative-democratic party and has strongly denied being Islamist. Barrister Katy Thorne KC, defending, last week argued the prosecution was effectively trying to revive blasphemy laws, which were abolished in England and Wales in 2008 and Scotland in 2021. Coskun, who has both Kurdish and Armenian heritage but was born in Turkey, travelled from his home in the Midlands and set fire to the Koran on the afternoon of 13 February, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard last week. Footage aired in court showed another man confronting Coskun, allegedly holding a knife and saying: "It's my religion, you don't burn the Koran." NSS chief executive Stephen Evans said: "The outcome of this case is a significant blow to freedom of expression and signals a concerning capitulation to Islamic blasphemy codes." He said it establishes "heckler's veto" that incentivises "violent responses to suppress views deemed offensive". "Such an erosion of free speech is detrimental to community relations. Social cohesion is best achieved not by restricting rights but by fostering their free exercise." Please refresh the page for the latest version.
