Western standards for free speech repeatedly have come under attack in recent years in a number of court cases, and now the conviction of one protester in the United Kingdom has highlighted how close that nation has come to the full restoration of blasphemy prosecutions, which were abandoned in 2008.
Constitutional expert Jonathan Turley, law professor at George Washington University and counselor to Congress on constitutional issues, is warning about “how the United Kingdom has continued its erosion of free speech by pushing an effective blasphemy law.”
The most recent development was the conviction of a London man of a “religiously aggravated public order offence” for burning a Quran.
It was Hamit Coskun, 50, a Turkish-born Armenian-Kurdish atheist, who was arrested for protesting the Islamic rule of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara.
For his statements, he was slashed by a Muslim man with a knife, and because he was attacked, a judge, John McGarva, claimed his actions were “provocative” and were “motivated at least in party by a hatred of Muslims.”
“Judge McGarva made clear that his views of Islam would not be tolerated in the United Kingdom,” Turley explained, noting the judge claimed: “After considering the evidence, I find you have a deep-seated hatred of Islam and its followers. That’s based on your experiences in Turkey and the experiences of your family. It’s not possible to separate your views about the religion to your views about the followers. I do accept that the choice of location was in part that you wanted to protest what you see as the Islamification of Turkey. But you were also motivated by the hatred of Muslims and knew some would be at the location.”
Turley said there’s “fear” that such laws attacking “hate” and that outlaw criticism of Islam will “constructively restore” blasphemy prosecutions in the U.K.
The Free Speech Union, representing Coskun, promised an appeal.
“A Turkish political refugee has been convicted of a criminal offence in Britain for burning a copy of the Koran outside the Turkish Consulate in London. The Free Speech Union (FSU) funded his defence. Now we need your help to fund his appeal. Hamit Coskun, who spent nearly 10 years in prison in Turkey for his political activism, was found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence. The case turned on a deeply troubling point: one of the Crown’s main arguments was that because a bystander attacked him with a knife, he must have caused ‘harassment, alarm or distress’. This is a dangerous precedent. It effectively creates a heckler’s veto by violence, and opens the door to the return of blasphemy law in all but name. We’re supporting Hamit not because we’re anti-Islam, but because no one should be compelled to observe the blasphemy codes of a faith they do not share. Free speech includes the freedom to criticise religion. We will take this case to appeal. With your support, we can defend a fundamental principle of liberal democracy: no religion is beyond criticism.”
HELP US OPPOSE THE BACKDOOR BLASPHEMY LAW!
A Turkish political refugee has been convicted of a criminal offence in Britain for burning a copy of the Koran outside the Turkish Consulate in London. The Free Speech Union (FSU) funded his defence. Now we need your help to fund… pic.twitter.com/Brzk4mqWqb
— The Free Speech Union (@SpeechUnion) June 2, 2025
Conservative politician Kemi Badenoch joined with a comment that “de facto blasphemy laws will set this country on the road to ruin.”
De facto blasphemy laws will set this country on the road to ruin.
This case should go to appeal. Freedom of belief, and freedom not to believe, are inalienable rights in Britain.
As I said in this interview, I’ll defend those rights to my dying day. https://t.co/PScT7xLJ9n pic.twitter.com/5ek9tYwWqv
— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) June 2, 2025
The The Gateway Pundit reported that man who slashed Coskun, Moussa Kadri, later pleaded guilty to the assault.
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Author: Bob Unruh
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