Koran burning ruling rejection of 'back door blasphemy law'

CAMPAIGNERS have said the High Court has rejected a “wrongheaded attempt to introduce a blasphemy law by the back door” as judges upheld the acquittal of a man who burned a Koran in public.

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Hamit Coskun was convicted last June of a religiously aggravated public order offence after he held a flaming copy of the Islamic text aloft and shouted “**** Islam” outside the Turkish embassy on February 13 last year.

The 51-year-old successfully appealed against his conviction, having it overturned by Mr Justice Bennathan at Southwark Crown Court in October.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) brought an appeal against that decision at the High Court and asked for it to be reconsidered.

But dismissing the appeal in a decision on Friday, Lord Justice Warby and Ms Justice Obi said: “We are not persuaded that the court left any material factor out of account or relied on any immaterial factor.”