A protestor who set fire to a Koran outside the Turkish consulate in London said he would not have come to Britain had he known free speech was ‘under threat here’.
Hamit Coskun, 50, burned Islam’s holy book to highlight how Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan‘s constitutionally secular government had become an ‘Islamist regime’.
Mr Coskun who is half Turkish and half Armenian, was attacked by a knifeman during his protest and has since been assaulted by extremists near his home.
Police have now moved him to a secret location where he is watched by two bodyguards.
After a hearing last week at Westminster Magistrates’ Court he will learn today whether a judge has found him guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence and another charge of disorderly behaviour.
In an exclusive interview with the Mail, the father-of-two said: ‘I would never have come here if I knew this country does not have free speech.
‘I would never have come if I knew criticising Islam would attract attention and risk. Radical Islamists do not exist in Turkey – they exist in the UK.’
Mr Coskun – a secularist who fled Turkey almost three years ago to escape persecution – came to Britain as an asylum seeker.
Hamit Coskun, 50, burned Islam’s holy book to highlight how Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s constitutionally secular government had become an ‘Islamist regime’
He accepts that burning the Koran was offensive. But he insists he committed the act to protest against Mr Erdogan (pictured) rather than Muslims in general
His desecration of the Koran was posted instantly on social media, stirring anger across the Muslim community. As he set fire to the book, which Muslims believe is the literal word of God, and so must never be desecrated, he shouted: ‘F*** Islam, Islam is a religion of terrorism.’
He was charged with using ‘threatening or abusive words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress’.
Last week, his defence lawyer told the court that prosecutors were ‘seeking to introduce a law unknown to this land, namely blasphemy in relation to Islam’.
Mr Coskun said a guilty verdict would be a victory of extremism over free speech, adding: ‘It will become a limitation of freedom of expression, because they are trying to eliminate anyone who is criticising Islam.
‘This proves they are trying to enforce blasphemy law in this country. This is not what a democratic country would do.’
He accepts that burning the Koran was offensive. But he insists he committed the act to protest against Mr Erdogan rather than Muslims in general.
The Free Speech Union and the National Secular Society have paid for Mr Coskun’s legal fees and his private security.
Stephen Evans, chief executive of the NSS, said last night: ‘A successful prosecution would represent the effective criminalisation of damaging a Koran in public, ushering in blasphemy laws by the back door.
‘The case also highlights the alarming use of public-order laws to curtail our collective right to freedom of expression and protest based on the subjective reactions of others. Establishing a right not to be offended threatens the very foundation of free expression.’
