Hamit Coskun: Turkish man who burnt Koran outside Turkey's consulate in London to appeal conviction with support from FSU and NSS
Free Speech campaigners and humanists are to launch a legal appeal after a Turkish man was found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence after burning a Koran outside the Turkish embassy in London.
Hamit Coskun had posted on social media that he was protesting against the “Islamist government” of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who the defendant allegedly said “has made Turkey a base for radical Islamists and is trying to establish a Sharia regime”.
The court hear that during his protest, a Muslim passerby attacked Coskun with a knife, shouting: “Burning the Koran? It’s my religion! You don’t burn the Koran.” He is now subject to legal action.
In a legal opinion commissioned by the National Secular Society, Akua Reindorf KC argued that any conviction on the basis of the charges against Coskun would amount to “the reinstatement in English law of an offence of blasphemy by the back door”.
The 50-year-old had argued his criticism was of Islam in general rather than its followers, however 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 on Monday 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.
During his protest he shouted “f*** Islam”, “Islam is religion of terrorism” and “Koran is burning” while holding the flaming Koran.
Turkey-born Coskun, who is Kurdish-Armenian and an athiest, travelled from his home in the Midlands to carry out the act on February 13.
His legal fees are being paid by the National Secular Society (NSS) and the Free Speech Union (FSU), both of which intend to appeal the decision.
In a statement, 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 “Christian blasphemy laws were repealed in this country more than 15 years ago and it cannot be right to prosecute someone for blaspheming against Islam.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.”
An FSU spokesperson said they will take the case “all the way to the European Court of Human Rights” if necessary.
They added: "Incredibly, part of the prosecution’s evidence that he’d caused someone harassment, alarm or distress was that a Muslim man who witnessed his protest attacked him with a knife... We cannot let the authorities introduce a Muslim blasphemy law via the backdoor."
On Tuesday Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said there is no existing legislation that outlaws blasphemy nor is it planning to bring one in, after Conservative MP Nick Timothy said the grounds on which Hamit was found guilty was “grotesque”.
Mr Timothy is bringing a Bill forward next week on the issue.
See details of Hamit’s legal fund here or at www.freespeechunion.org.