The National Secular Society has published a legal opinion warning that a criminal case concerning the burning of the Qur’an threatens the back-door 'reinstatement' of a blasphemy law.
Human rights silk Akua Reindorf KC, of 1 Pump Court, was asked by the Society for advice on a charge brought against Hamit Coskun over an incident outside the Turkish Consulate in London. Footage posted on social media appeared to show a man burning a book outside its barrier.
Coskun, a 50-year-old Turkish man, appeared before Westminster Magistrates’ Court in February, where he denied ‘intent to cause against the religious institution of Islam, harassment, alarm or distress’ contrary to sections 31(1)(b) and (4) Crime and Disorder Act 1998.
Reindorf wrote: ‘The charge against Mr Coskun is plainly defective on its face, since “the religious institution of Islam” is not a “person” for the purposes of s.4A of the Public Order Act 1986, and as such it can neither have been caused harassment, alarm or distress for the purposes of s.4A POA 1986 nor be the victim of the religiously aggravated version of the same offence in s.31(1)(b) of the CDA 1998.
‘Even if the charge is amended, the prosecution is likely to struggle to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Coskun’s conviction would be a proportionate response to the relatively minor threat posed by him to public order or morals, given the high level of protection afforded to political protest under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the presumption in favour of freedom of expression.
‘Both the wording of the charge and any conviction based on these facts (insofar as they are known to me) would tend to suggest the reinstatement in English law of an offence of blasphemy by the back door, such an offence having been abolished in 2008 and never having applied to religions other than Christianity in any event.’
The National Secular Society has written to the Crown Prosecution Service urging it to drop the prosecution of Coskun.
