All posts tagged: Hamit

A victory for free speech: the Hamit Coskun ruling

A victory for free speech: the Hamit Coskun ruling

Published by Sam Flores

Last week’s Crown Court judgment marked an important victory for free expression – and for our work defending it. In February, Hamit Coskun burned a Quran during a one-man protest outside the Turkish embassy. He hurt no one, threatened no one, and acted peacefully. Yet he was convicted of a religiously aggravated public order offence and fined. Now, following an appeal backed by the National Secular Society and the Free Speech Union, the High Court has ruled that his protest did not break the law. Mr Justice Bennathan’s judgment could not be clearer: “There is no offence of blasphemy in our law. Burning a Koran may be an act that many Muslims find desperately upsetting and offensive. The criminal law, however, is not a mechanism that seeks to avoid people being upset, even grievously upset. The right to freedom of expression, if it is a right worth having, must include the right to express views that offend, shock or disturb.” This landmark ruling is a vital affirmation of the principle at the heart of a …

Hamit Coskun to appeal conviction for burning Quran

Hamit Coskun to appeal conviction for burning Quran

Published by Sam Flores

A man set to appeal his conviction for burning a copy of the Quran will argue his actions were legitimate political debate protected under the right to freedom of speech. Hamit Coskun was convicted of a religiously aggravated public order offence by Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June after setting fire to a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish consulate in London. The National Secular Society (NSS), which is joint-funding Coskun’s appeal with the Free Speech Union, described the conviction as a troubling repurposing of the public order act into “a form of modern blasphemy law”. Coskun: “symbolic, non-violent expression of dissent” against theocracy in Turkey At his appeal, due before Southwark Crown Court today, Coskun will argue that the criminal sanction represents a disproportionate interference with his Article 10 right to freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights. Coskun says his “symbolic, non-violent expression of dissent” was motivated by concerns about increasing theocracy in Turkey. At his trial in June, Coskun said his protest was directed against the president of Turkey, …

Why we’re defending Hamit Coskun – and why it matters

Why we’re defending Hamit Coskun – and why it matters

Published by Sam Flores

The prime minister recently declared that Britain “fiercely” protects free speech. Fine words – but they will ring hollow to Hamit Coskun, who was convicted for burning a Quran during a political protest. The National Secular Society is backing the appeal of Coskun’s conviction. Not because we endorse his actions – we don’t – but because the principle at stake could not be more important. Free expression does not exist to protect polite or popular opinions. It exists to protect those that anger, unsettle, or offend. And it is precisely when speech offends that our commitment to that principle is truly tested. Coskun’s protest was not directed at any individual, but at the Erdogan regime, its erosion of secularism, and the rising tide of Islamism in his native Turkey. As an act of symbolic, non-violent dissent, he set fire to a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish consulate. Despite the peaceful nature of his demonstration, he was convicted under the Public Order Act for “disorderly behaviour” in the presence of someone “likely to be …

NSS backs Hamit Coskun appeal

NSS backs Hamit Coskun appeal

Published by Sam Flores

The National Secular Society are supporting an appeal in the case of a man who was found guilty of a public order offence after burning a Quran. Hamit Coskun (pictured) was convicted by Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June after burning a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish consulate in protest against the “Islamist government” of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Coskun was prosecuted 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. He was also found guilty under section 31(1)(c) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, which makes the public order offence “religiously aggravated”. During the protest, Coskun was assailed by two onlookers, one attacking him with a knife, shouting: “Burning the Quran? It’s my religion! You don’t burn the Quran.” He is now subject to legal action. The judge took the fact that Coskun was violently attacked as evidence that his conduct was ‘disorderly’, and did not accept that Coskun’s protest …