A man who burned a Koran outside the Turkish consulate has been found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence.
Hamit Coskun was convicted at Westminster Magistrates' Court earlier this afternoon following the incident on February 13.
Coskun, 50, shouted "f**k Islam" and "Islam is religion of terrorism" as he held the flaming Koran aloft in Rutland Gardens, Knightsbridge, London.
Giving his verdict, District Judge John McGarva said: "Your actions in burning the Koran where you did were highly provocative, and your actions were accompanied by bad language in some cases directed toward the religion and were motivated at least in part by hatred of followers of the religion."
PA
|The 50-year-old believes that he protested peacefully and burning the Koran amounted to freedom of expression, the court heard
Coskun was also fined £240 and slapped with a statutory surcharge of £96.
He said his conviction was "an assault on free speech and will deter others from exercising their democratic rights".
The Free Speech Union and the National Secular Society will pay his legal fees.
A video of the incident went viral after Coskun was attacked, and the 50-year-old later claimed that two Iraqi men broke into his home in Derby and threatened him with an ashtray and a knife.
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The father-of-three came to the UK from Turkey two-and-a-half years ago to flee persecution and has since been seeking asylum.
The atheist has spent nearly 10 years in jail for his membership of a Kurdish political party, which Turkish authorities name as a terrorist front.
Coskun said he became alarmed at what he claimed as the "Islamification" of Turkey and is convinced that the Koran encourages terrorism after "studying the Koran for 25 years".
Coskun explained: "On February 13, I went to London, I took the bus. At 2pm, in front of the Turkish consulate.
PA | Coskun has been fined £240, with a statutory surcharge of £96
"That's because Turkey has been made a base for extremism, and that is why I burned the Koran."
A man came out of a nearby neighbourhood building and told Coskun: "You're a f**king idiot", adding: "I'm going to f**king kill you now."
Coskun stated: "I don't speak English, but I could tell the guy was threatening me. After a minute, he came back. I was scared. But that doesn't mean I am a coward.
"Then the delivery rider stamped on my hand and threw his bicycle on me before cycling off."