US EditionCPS loses bid to overturn Quran-burner's acquittal
Judges ruled freedom of expression protects offensive acts; the Crown Prosecution Service spent hundreds of thousands pursuing the case, which was dismissed as unlawful harassment.
- On Friday, the High Court dismissed the Crown Prosecution Service appeal and upheld Hamit Coskun's acquittal, with Lord Justice Warby and Ms Justice Obi stating the CPS’s submissions were merely counter-arguments.
- After Southwark Crown Court overturned Hamit Coskun's conviction in October, the Crown Prosecution Service challenged the acquittal and appealed to the High Court for reconsideration.
- Following the protest, CCTV shows Hamit Coskun was attacked outside the Turkish consulate during his Quran-burning demonstration on February 13 last year, and he was fined £240.
- A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said it is carefully reviewing the High Court decision, noting burning a religious text alone is not a criminal act, while the Free Speech Union called the dismissal a "humiliating defeat" for the CPS.
- The judgment positions the courts as rejecting a `wrongheaded attempt to introduce a blasphemy law by the back door`, campaigners said, urging a CPS review.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Crown Prosecution Service loses bid to reinstate conviction of Qur’an burner
FacebookLikeShareTweetEmail The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lost a case at the UK High Court today to reinstate the conviction of Hamit Coskun, a 51-year-old asylum seeker who burnt a copy of the Qur’an outside the Turkish consulate last year. In what free speech activists are describing as a “humiliating” defeat for the CPS, the 51-year-old […]
UK Court Backs Man Who Burned Quran
A man who burned a Quran outside the Turkish consulate in London has won his latest court battle after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) failed in a bid to overturn his acquittal at the High Court. Hamit Coskun had been cleared of a religiously aggravated public order offence following a prolonged legal dispute stemming from the incident, during which he set fire to the Islamic holy book in public and was subsequently attacked by a knifeman at…
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