A person who burned a replica of the Quran outdoors the Turkish consulate in London was convicted Monday of a religiously aggravated public order offense, amid the worldwide surge of anti-Muslim assaults.
Hamit Coşkun, 50, was fined 240 kilos ($325) at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court after being convicted of being disorderly by shouting “F@#$ Islam” as he held aloft the burning ebook close to the consulate in central London in February.
The lawyer for Coşkun, who lived in central England, had argued that the prosecution amounted to an try to carry again a blasphemy legislation that was abolished in England in 2008.
Coşkun had denied the cost and stated on social media he was finishing up a protest towards the Turkish authorities. While he was holding the ebook aloft, he was attacked by a person with a knife who kicked and spat at him.
“Burning a religious book, although offensive, to some is not necessarily disorderly,” stated Judge John McGarva.
“What made his conduct disorderly was the timing and location of the conduct and that all this was accompanied by abusive language. There was no need for him to use the ‘F word’ and direct it towards Islam.”
British Muslims have expressed main concern concerning the surge in anti-Muslim hate crimes over the previous yr, with some offenses doubling in some areas, calling for harder legal guidelines towards the difficulty.
Source: www.dailysabah.com