A man has been found guilty of burning a Koran outside of a Turkish consulate in London.

Hamit Coskun, 50, was today found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence after burning a Koran outside the Turkish consulate in London on February 13.

He has been fined £240 as a result of the conviction.

Coskun shouted “f*** Islam”, “Islam is religion of terrorism” and “Koran is burning” as he held the flaming Islamic text aloft in Rutland Gardens, Knightsbridge, London, on February 13, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard last week.

His lawyer, Katy Thorne KC, argued last week that the prosecution is effectively trying to revive blasphemy laws, which were abolished in England and Wales in 2008 and Scotland in 2021.

Blasphemy remains an offence in Northern Ireland but is rarely enforced.