Overview

• Mr Justice Joel Bennathan at Southwark Crown Court quashed the religiously aggravated public order conviction on Friday.
• He found prosecutors had not proved disorderly conduct within sight or hearing of a person likely to be harassed, alarmed or distressed.
• The ruling pointed to the brief, solitary demonstration outside a consulate, a recognised location for political protest.
• Coskun had been fined in June at Westminster Magistrates’ Court after shouting abusive slogans while burning the Koran.
• The appeal was funded by the National Secular Society and the Free Speech Union, and Robert Jenrick welcomed the decision as a free‑speech victory.