Barry Duke, the Angry Atheist

Pointing and laughing at religious lunacy for more than half-a-century

UK’s Crown Prosecution Service accused of attempting to introduce ‘back-door blasphemy’ in Quran-burning case

THE National Secular Society (NSS) has reacted angrily to news the the CPS is to appeal a Crown Court decision to overturn the conviction of a Hamit Coskun, above, who burned a Quran during a protest against radical Islam.

In February Coskun, a Turkish national of Armenian and Kurdish heritage, burned a Quran outside the Turkish Consulate in London. He said his demonstration was a protest against the Oresident of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, for policies which he said are turning Turkey into a “base for radical Islamists”.

He was then attacked by two men, one armed with a knife.

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Coskun was found guilty of an offence under Section 5 of the Public Order Act which criminalises using words or behaving in a disorderly manner, or displaying material that is likely to harass, intimidate or distress others, but later had his conviction quashed on appeal.

Now the CPS is has challenged the Southwark Crown Court finding, in which Mr Justice Bennathan said that, while burning a Koran 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.”

In its appeal application to the High Court, the CPS said burning a Quran in public is “an obviously provocative act” and called it an “act of desecration”.

It said that his conduct was disorderly “is no better illustrated than by the fact that it led to serious public disorder involving him being assaulted by two different members of the public”.

Images via YouTube

Coskun required hospital treatment after being assaulted by Moussa Kadri with a knife and kicked while lying on the floor by the second assailant. Kadri has avoided jail; the other assailant was never caught.

The CPS said it is a “notorious fact” that burning a Quran is:

A highly controversial act that has led to widespread international protests and condemnation, particularly from Muslim communities and governments, and has provoked numerous well-documented incidents of disorder and violence.

NSS Chief Executive, Stephen Evans, said:

This appeal marks a renewed assault on free expression by prosecutors. The CPS seems determined to establish a blasphemy law by the back door. Their approach effectively treats those who are targeted with violence for offending religious sensibilities as the wrongdoers. That is an alarming inversion of justice.

He added:

If this stance is allowed to stand, extremists will be handed a veto over free expression, and the principle of equality under the law will be seriously undermined. The High Court must reject this dangerous attempt to police ‘offence’ on behalf of religion.

Blasphemy was abolished as a common law offence in England and Wales in 2008. Last year, the Government said it would not reintroduce blasphemy laws, after Tahir Ali MP asked Prime Minister Keir Starmer to “commit to introducing measures to prohibit the desecration of all religious texts and prophets of the Abrahamic religions”.

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