Man wins appeal over conviction for burning Koran outside London's Turkish consulate

LONDON (Reuters) -A man found guilty of committing a religiously aggravated public order offence by setting fire to a copy of the Koran outside London's Turkish consulate had his conviction overturned on Friday in what supporters said was a victory for free speech.

Hamit Coskun, 51, was fined 240 pounds ($325) at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court in June after being convicted of an offence by shouting "Fuck Islam" as he held aloft the burning book near the consulate in central London in February.

The decision to overturn that verdict after an appeal at London's Southwark Crown Court was hailed by his supporters as an important triumph for freedom of expression.

"Hamit Coskun’s protest was a lawful act of political dissent," Stephen Evans, chief executive of the National Secular Society which supported his case said in a statement. "There is no need to condone the nature of his demonstration – what is important is that it was not criminal."

Coskun, whose father was Kurdish and his mother Armenian and who lived in central England, had denied the charge and said on social media he was carrying out a protest against the Turkish government. While he was holding the book aloft, he was attacked by a man with a knife who kicked and spat at him.

In its appeal ruling, the court said prosecutors had not properly shown that his behaviour was disorderly nor that it was within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused distress.    

"Today’s decision reaffirms the vital principle that free speech protects the right to offend, shock, or disturb – even when it challenges deeply held religious beliefs," Evans said.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Toby Chopra)