Man charged over 'threat to behead' protester who set Koran alight outside Turkish consulate
Muhammad Naasir Attaari, 49, was charged with threatening to kill Hamit Coskun after he burned the Muslim holy book outside the Turkish consulate in London on February 13.
He is accused of telling an Asda employee that he would behead Coskun and he was later arrested after the staff member reported him to the police, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Mr Attaari, originally from Blackburn, Lancashire, appeared in Westminster Magistrates' Court, wearing a white cap and a black hoodie and entered no pleas.
He is also charged with three counts of possessing a bladed article in a public place.
'With regard to the threats to kill, it has taken place at an Asda store,' Prosecutor Rizwan Amin told the court.
'A member of staff approached him and interacted with this defendant.
'On one particular occasion, there was dialogue between both parties, in particular that someone had burned a Koran, the holy book.'
District Judge John Zani told him: 'You face a number of serious offences too serious to be dealt with in this court.'
He was remanded in custody and his case was sent to Isleworth Crown Court where he will appear on July 10.
Coskun, 50, was convicted of a religiously aggravated public order offence earlier this month in Westminster Magistrates' Court after setting fire to a copy of the Koran.
He shouted 'f*** Islam', 'Islam is religion of terrorism' and 'Koran is burning' while holding the flaming Islamic text above his head, and was ordered to pay £240 as a result of his conviction.
He was found guilty of a public order offence motivated by 'hostility towards members of a religious group, namely followers of Islam'.
Coskun was also convicted of using disorderly conduct 'within the hearing or sight of a person likely to have caused harassment, alarm or distress', contrary to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986.
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