Man fined for burning Qur'an in London wins appeal against conviction

"A man who set fire to a Qur'an outside the Turkish consulate in London has won an appeal against his conviction after a judge backed his right to offend. Hamit Coskun was found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence in June after shouting fuck Islam and Islam is religion of terrorism while burning the holy book February. Westminster magistrates court had found that Coskun's actions were motivated at least in part by hostility towards Muslims due to prejudicial comments he made in his police interview."

"But in a legal challenge backed by the Free Speech Union and the National Secular Society, Coskun overturned the conviction at Southwark crown court on Friday. Mr Justice Bennathan said that while burning a Qur'an might be something many Muslims find desperately upsetting and offensive, the right to freedom of expression must include the right to express views that offend, shock or disturb. Coskun, who is half Kurdish and half Armenian, was born in Turkey and lives in the Midlands."

"After the ruling, Coskun said he had come to England to be able to speak freely about the dangers of radical Islam and was now reassured that despite many troubling developments I will now be free to educate the British public about my beliefs. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, who attended the hearing, said he did not agree with burning the Qur'an. But he added: I don't believe it's a crime."

A man set fire to a Qur'an outside the Turkish consulate in London and was initially convicted of a religiously aggravated public order offence after shouting abusive statements while burning the holy book. Westminster magistrates judged his actions showed hostility towards Muslims based on comments in a police interview. A legal challenge supported by the Free Speech Union and the National Secular Society succeeded at Southwark crown court, where the judge held that freedom of expression must cover views that offend, shock or disturb. The defendant said he came to England to speak about radical Islam, and critics warned of blasphemy-like implications.

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