A London court has convicted a Turkish-born man of a religiously aggravated public order offence after he desecrated a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish consulate earlier this year.
Hamit Coskun, 50, shouted “Islam is a religion of terrorism” while setting fire to the holy book during a protest in February. The incident was filmed by a passerby and later circulated on social media. Coskun, an atheist currently seeking asylum in the UK, claimed the act was aimed at protesting against the Turkish government, specifically President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s administration.
At Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday, District Judge John McGarva found Coskun guilty of using threatening or abusive behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm, or distress. He ruled that the act was motivated by hostility toward Muslims and fined Coskun £240, with an additional £96 victim surcharge.
“Your actions were highly provocative,” Judge McGarva said. “They were accompanied by offensive language and showed clear hostility towards members of a religious group.”
Prosecutors emphasized that Coskun was not being charged for destroying the Quran, but for his disorderly conduct in a public setting. During the trial, the court was shown video evidence in which another man, allegedly armed with a knife, appeared to confront Coskun during the incident.
Coskun’s legal defence was supported by the Free Speech Union (FSU) and the National Secular Society. Both groups argue that the case effectively represents a modern-day blasphemy prosecution, despite the UK having repealed such laws more than 15 years ago.
The FSU described the verdict as “deeply disappointing,” and Coskun, speaking through the organization, said the ruling was “an assault on free speech.”
“If I had burned a Bible outside Westminster Abbey, would I have been prosecuted?” he asked.
