> A man who was fined for setting 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 in February.
> Westminster magistrates court had found that Coskun’s actions were motivated at least in part by hostility towards Muslims. Coskun had argued his public criticism was of Islam in general rather than its followers. In a legal challenge backed by the Free Speech Union and the National Secular Society, Coskun had the conviction overturned 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 England.
> Toby Young, the director of the Free Speech Union, said the ruling sent a message that “anti-religious protests, however offensive to true believers, must be tolerated”. He added: “Had the verdict been allowed to stand, it would have sent a message to religious fundamentalists up and down the country that all they need to do to enforce their blasphemy codes is to violently attack the blasphemer, thereby making him or her guilty of having caused public disorder.” The National Secular Society said the judgment was “an important victory for freedom of expression”, describing Coskun’s protest as a “lawful act of political dissent”.
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> A man who was fined for setting 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 in February.
> Westminster magistrates court had found that Coskun’s actions were motivated at least in part by hostility towards Muslims. Coskun had argued his public criticism was of Islam in general rather than its followers. In a legal challenge backed by the Free Speech Union and the National Secular Society, Coskun had the conviction overturned 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 England.
> Toby Young, the director of the Free Speech Union, said the ruling sent a message that “anti-religious protests, however offensive to true believers, must be tolerated”. He added: “Had the verdict been allowed to stand, it would have sent a message to religious fundamentalists up and down the country that all they need to do to enforce their blasphemy codes is to violently attack the blasphemer, thereby making him or her guilty of having caused public disorder.” The National Secular Society said the judgment was “an important victory for freedom of expression”, describing Coskun’s protest as a “lawful act of political dissent”.