No charges in Koran burning case following FSU interventionIn a significant victory for free speech in Britain, a man arrested for burning a copy of the Koran in Bradford will not face charges, following intervention by the FSU.
Dheyaa, whose full name we’ve withheld because of the numerous threats against his life, arrived in Britain as an asylum-seeker. Ironically, he was fleeing religious persecution.
After he uploaded a video of himself burning a Koran in a symbolic stand for freedom of speech and against Islamic extremism, West Yorkshire Police reacted swiftly – not to protect his right to protest, but to arrest him on suspicion of inciting religious hatred.
The FSU intervened immediately, instructing a solicitor and covering Dheyaa’s legal fees. He recently learned that the police have decided not to charge him.
This is, of course, great news – but Dheyaa should never have been arrested in the first place.
Blasphemy laws were abolished in England and Wales in 2008 and causing offence is not a crime. Provocative political expression, however distasteful some may find it, can’t be legally suppressed without clear evidence of incitement to violence or a threat to public safety. Nonetheless, authorities are increasingly misusing public order laws to clamp down on the desecration of religious texts.
Against this backdrop, the outcome in Dheyaa’s case demonstrates how essential early intervention and legal advocacy by groups like the FSU remains in resisting attempts to criminalise provocative yet legitimate speech.
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