Man who burned Koran convicted of religiously aggravated public order offence

2 June 2025, 12:52 | Updated: 2 June 2025, 13:01

A man has been found guilty of burning a Koran outside of a Turkish consulate in London.

Hamit Coskun, 50, was today found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence after burning a Koran outside the Turkish consulate in London on February 13.

He has been fined £240 as a result of the conviction.

Coskun shouted “f*** Islam”, “Islam is religion of terrorism” and “Koran is burning” as he held the flaming Islamic text aloft in Rutland Gardens, Knightsbridge, London, on February 13, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard last week.

His lawyer, Katy Thorne KC, argued last week that the prosecution is effectively trying to revive blasphemy laws, which were abolished in England and Wales in 2008 and Scotland in 2021.

Blasphemy remains an offence in Northern Ireland but is rarely enforced.

Prosecutor Philip McGhee said the case is about disorderly conduct, not the act of burning the Koran itself, adding that the prosecution of Coskun does not represent a restriction on criticising religion.

Turkey-born Coskun, who is half Kurdish and half Armenian, travelled from his home in the Midlands and set fire to the Koran at around 2pm, the court heard.

In footage captured on a mobile phone by a passerby that was shown to the court, a man approached and asked Coskun why he was burning a copy of the Koran.

Coskun can be heard making a reference to “terrorist” and the man called the defendant “a f****** idiot”.

The man approached him allegedly holding a knife or bladed article and appeared to slash out at him, the court heard.

The footage appeared to show Coskun back away and use the burning Koran to deflect the attacker, who is alleged to have slashed out at him again.

The man chased Coskun, and the defendant stumbled forward and fell to the ground, dropping the Koran, the footage showed.

Coskun was spat at and kicked by the man, the court heard.

The man said: “Burning the Koran? It’s my religion, you don’t burn the Koran.”

The National Secular Society (NSS), which alongside the Free Speech Union paid for Hamit Coskun’s legal fees, said the verdict “jeopardises” free expression.

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.

“The court’s acceptance of the prosecution’s assertion that Mr Coskun’s actions stemmed from hostility towards Muslims raises serious concerns. It is essential to differentiate between prejudice or hatred aimed at individuals and hostility towards the ideologies of Islam or Islamism.

“The conviction of Mr Coskun on the grounds that his actions were ‘likely’ to cause harassment, alarm, or distress suggests a troubling repurposing of public order laws as a proxy for blasphemy laws. This jeopardises freedom of expression by establishing a ‘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.”

A spokesperson for Humanists UK previously said that a successful prosecution would “effectively resurrect the crime of blasphemy in England and Wales – 17 years after its abolition”.

They added: “This reintroduction of blasphemy by the back door would have profound consequences, not only for free expression in the UK but for the safety and wellbeing of hundreds of thousands of so-called ‘apostates’ in the UK and their right to freedom of thought and conscience.”