Man who burned Koran in front of Turkish embassy in London set to be accepted as refugee by US if he loses blasphemy case

The move threatens to intensify already strained relations between Washington and London over free speech as critics accuse Sir Keir Starmer's Government of undermining fundamental rights.

A senior official from the US administration confirmed Mr Coskun's situation was "one of several cases the administration has made note of".

The Crown Prosecution Service is attempting to reverse a previous court decision that quashed Mr Coskun's conviction for a religiously aggravated public order offence.

Last February, Mr Coskun travelled from the Midlands to the Turkish consulate in Knightsbridge, where he set the Islamic holy book alight.

He held the burning text overhead whilst shouting slogans including "Islam is religion of terrorism" and "f**k Islam".

During the incident, a passer-by named Moussa Kadri assaulted him, apparently using a blade before kicking Mr Coskun to the ground.

Mr Kadri received a suspended 20-week prison sentence.

Initially, prosecutors charged Mr Coskun with harassing the "religious institution of Islam".

The National Secular Society and the Free Speech Union intervened, arguing this amounted to an effective blasphemy prosecution—an offence abolished in the UK 18 years ago.

Following their involvement, the charge was amended. Mr Coskun was subsequently convicted of a religiously aggravated public order offence and ordered to pay a £240 fine.

However, Southwark Crown Court overturned that conviction in October.

Mr Justice Bennathan ruled that whilst Koran burning might be "desperately upsetting and offensive" to many Muslims, freedom of expression "must include the right to express views that offend, shock or disturb".

Mr Coskun, who is of Armenian-Kurdish descent and sought asylum in Britain from Turkey, said he might have to leave if the court rules against him.

THE KORAN BURNING SAGA:

• Man who burned Koran will be given free housing by the Home Office over 'exceptional safety risk'
• Man found guilty after burning Koran outside Turkish embassy wins appeal as campaigners hail 'victory for free speech'
• Muslim man who attacked protester burning Koran outside Turkish consulate in London spared jail

"For me, as the victim of Islamic terrorism, I cannot remain silent. I may be forced to flee the UK and move to the USA, where President Trump has stood for free speech and against Islamic extremism," he told The Telegraph.

He described such an outcome as proof that Britain had "effectively fallen to Islamism and the speech codes that it wishes to impose on the non-Muslim world".

The 51-year-old, now residing in a safe house for protection, accused Sir Keir of making a "political calculation" to "secure the Muslim vote" ahead of the next general election.

Should he prevail in court, Mr Coskun pledged to continue burning Korans throughout the country as political protest against what he termed Turkey's Islamification.

Lord Young of Acton, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, warned that a CPS victory would establish what he called a "stabber's veto".

"If the CPS succeeds in getting Hamit's acquittal overturned, breaking an Islamic blasphemy code, whether it's 'desecrating' the 'holy book' or showing a class of schoolchildren cartoons of Mohamed, will become a religiously aggravated public order offence, just so long as the blasphemer is violently attacked by Muslim fanatics," he said.

He added: "It will sound the death knell for free speech in Britain."

The National Secular Society, which is supporting Mr Coskun alongside the FSU, said the CPS "appears determined to establish a blasphemy law by the back door".

An NSS spokesman said prosecutors were casting "those subjected to violence for offending religious sensibilities as the wrongdoers—a stark inversion of justice".

Tensions between the US and UK over freedom of expression flared publicly last February when Vice-President JD Vance declared at the Munich Security Conference that free speech in Britain was "in retreat".

Washington has also criticised Britain's Online Safety Act, which imposes fines of up to £18million or 10 per cent of annual revenue on social media platforms failing to remove harmful content.