German prosecutors have found insufficient evidence to
charge comedian Jan Böhmermann for his televised
poem insulting Turkey's president. Böhmermann was
responding to Recep Tayyip Erdogan's lust for libel
litigation.
German prosecutors on Tuesday dropped a controversial
investigation into German comedian Jan Böhmermann
for reading a poem insulting Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, saying there was insufficient evidence
to charge the comedian.
The Turkish government filed charges in April against
the "Neo Magazin Royale" host after he read a lewd
poem on the ZDFneo TV channel. The poem was a
mixture of genuine criticism of Turkish policy - for
instance towards Kurds - and lewd allegations about
Erdogan personally, including saying he had sex with
goats and engaged in sodomy.
The poem led to a diplomatic spat between Berlin and
Ankara.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed authorities to
launch an investigation into Böhmermann, citing
paragraph 103 of Germany's penal code, an archaic law
which protects foreign heads of state from insult.
A satirical and controversial poem
In order for the investigation to move forward
permission from the German government was required,
prompting an outpouring of criticism on Merkel for
restricting free speech and kow-towing to Turkey.
Prosecutors in Mainz said in a statement on Tuesday
that "criminal activity could not be proven with sufficient
certainty." It also found that there was insufficient
evidence to charge those involved in the production or
broadcast of the poem.
The prosecutors' statement paraphrased Böhmermann's
own defense of the show, broadcast in March. He had
said that the song was a clearly an "exaggerated
portrayal" of the Turkish president, and that "any listener
should immediately recognize ... that it was a joke or a
piece of nonsense."
Böhmermann had cited the "lacking seriousness" and
"the absence of a serious connection to the personal
honor" of Erdogan within his poem.
"This stance is supported by the objectively verifiable
circumstances, namely the content of the piece, its
origins, and the manner of the delivery," prosecutors
concluded.
Böhmermann's poem was in response to Turkey
summoning the German ambassador over a less
lewd song criticizing Erdogan on another satirical show.
Ahead of delivering the poem, Böhmermann said that
it was designed to demonstrate to Erdogan the
difference between justifiable criticism and
unsubstantiated insults that might test Germany's
defamation laws.
Erdogan opened nearly 2,000 cases in Turkey against
people who had allegedly insulted him before
announcing an amnesty for cases within Turkey this
July.
The case led to a growing chorus of calls for the archaic
law about insulting foreign heads of state to be
abolished, a process now being explored in Germany's
houses of parliament.
culled - cw/msh (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
charge comedian Jan Böhmermann for his televised
poem insulting Turkey's president. Böhmermann was
responding to Recep Tayyip Erdogan's lust for libel
litigation.
German prosecutors on Tuesday dropped a controversial
investigation into German comedian Jan Böhmermann
for reading a poem insulting Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, saying there was insufficient evidence
to charge the comedian.
The Turkish government filed charges in April against
the "Neo Magazin Royale" host after he read a lewd
poem on the ZDFneo TV channel. The poem was a
mixture of genuine criticism of Turkish policy - for
instance towards Kurds - and lewd allegations about
Erdogan personally, including saying he had sex with
goats and engaged in sodomy.
The poem led to a diplomatic spat between Berlin and
Ankara.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed authorities to
launch an investigation into Böhmermann, citing
paragraph 103 of Germany's penal code, an archaic law
which protects foreign heads of state from insult.
A satirical and controversial poem
In order for the investigation to move forward
permission from the German government was required,
prompting an outpouring of criticism on Merkel for
restricting free speech and kow-towing to Turkey.
Prosecutors in Mainz said in a statement on Tuesday
that "criminal activity could not be proven with sufficient
certainty." It also found that there was insufficient
evidence to charge those involved in the production or
broadcast of the poem.
The prosecutors' statement paraphrased Böhmermann's
own defense of the show, broadcast in March. He had
said that the song was a clearly an "exaggerated
portrayal" of the Turkish president, and that "any listener
should immediately recognize ... that it was a joke or a
piece of nonsense."
Böhmermann had cited the "lacking seriousness" and
"the absence of a serious connection to the personal
honor" of Erdogan within his poem.
"This stance is supported by the objectively verifiable
circumstances, namely the content of the piece, its
origins, and the manner of the delivery," prosecutors
concluded.
Böhmermann's poem was in response to Turkey
summoning the German ambassador over a less
lewd song criticizing Erdogan on another satirical show.
Ahead of delivering the poem, Böhmermann said that
it was designed to demonstrate to Erdogan the
difference between justifiable criticism and
unsubstantiated insults that might test Germany's
defamation laws.
Erdogan opened nearly 2,000 cases in Turkey against
people who had allegedly insulted him before
announcing an amnesty for cases within Turkey this
July.
The case led to a growing chorus of calls for the archaic
law about insulting foreign heads of state to be
abolished, a process now being explored in Germany's
houses of parliament.
culled - cw/msh (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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