A man who burned a copy of the Koran outside the Turkish Consulate in London has won an appeal against his conviction for a religiously aggravated public order offence. Hamit Coskun, 51, was found guilty earlier this year after shouting “f*** Islam” while displaying the flaming text. The appeal at Southwark Crown Court was funded by the National Secular Society and the Free Speech Union. The hearing was attended by Conservative shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick, who said he did not approve of Coskun’s actions but did not think it was a crime. Campaigners argued the prosecution and conviction amounted to a backdoor revival of blasphemy laws. Blasphemy provisions were abolished in England and Wales in 2008 and in Scotland in 2021. In Northern Ireland, related offences date back to the 19th century, though they are rarely used and remain offences. Coskun’s June trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court found him guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence for disorderly behaviour within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be harassed, alarmed or distressed, motivated by hostility towards followers of Islam, under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and section five of the Public Order Act 1986.