Germany is considering a request from Turkey to prosecute a TV comedian who wrote a crude poem about the Turkish president, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman said Monday.
The request poses an awkward choice for the German leader as she relies on Turkey to reduce the influx of migrants to Europe.
Turkey sent a diplomatic note making “a formal request for criminal prosecution” of comedian Jan Boehmermann, Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert said.
Boehmermann read the poem on ZDF television two weeks ago to illustrate what he said wouldn’t be allowed in Germany, contrasting it with another channel’s satirical song that also poked fun at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Germany’s ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry in Ankara last month to hear a protest over that song.
While the German government defended the song as legitimate free speech, it has strongly distanced itself from the poem. Seibert has said that Merkel and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu agreed the poem was “deliberately offensive.”
Germany’s criminal code provides for up to three years in prison or a fine for insulting a foreign head of state. However, it stipulates that such offenses are only prosecuted if the country in question seeks prosecution and the German government allows it.
Seibert told reporters Monday that officials would take several days to decide whether to allow prosecutors to proceed in the case, but stressed that Merkel holds free speech in high regard. It is “negotiable neither at home nor abroad,” he said.
German officials have appeared at pains to avoid causing further friction with Erdogan, steering clear of direct criticism of the president in recent weeks amid Turkey’s sharp response to German satire. Merkel championed the European Union-Turkey deal for Ankara to take back migrants who travel illegally to Greece.
Seibert said he was stressing Merkel’s dedication to free speech “to counter the impression that the freedom of opinion and art … no longer has the necessary high value for the chancellor just because she, along with other Europeans, wants to resolve the refugee question in partnership with Turkey.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Stupid!
again another one of hillarys schemes that she can get what she wants just because she is a secretary of state, a first lady and a senator does not give her the right to manipulate laws to get her way hasn’t she done enough damage already with bengazhi and travelgate not to mention the email server with matters of classified documents and now election tampering this is another example of her devious behavior and every American should be wary and on guard to avoid any more of her tricks technically she should already be in jail for her lack of concern for the people who elected her there is absolutely no way any patriotic American should even consider voting for her especially when she has so little regard for the laws of the country she wants to serve especially in the highest office in the entire country of course she has had a great supporter in the white house for the past 8 years and she should have enjoyed all her fun before it hopefully endand she will be entering the jail house instead of the white house I can just picture her in orange instead of black it could be her best color ever
This is ridicules the Chancellor actually considering bending to a terrorist threat! With Freedom of Speech as the leverage!
I wouldn’t stand for this and I would block all Turks from coming to my Country in counter threat! What has happened to these peoples brains did they leave them at the door?! Resistance is the only way to fight threats, not negotiation especially if you don’t have a clue how to negotiate, and she just proved by her response that she doesn’t!!!
How dumb. “Mommy, I don’t like the poem he wrote about me. Make him go away, I’m scared. I’m gonna cry, boohoo boohoo, oh woe is me! Boohoo.”
Come on, Turkey. You are a COUNTRY, why get your panties in a wad over a poem? That is as bad as saying a YouTube video made you do it. What has this World become! Every Country is on the “Oh, poor, poor me.” band wagon. I have had it, it is plain sickening hearing countries acting so badly.
Hey, Turkey, IF you are so heart-broken, distraught and pissed-off, then say “F_ck it!” and BOMB the HELL out of Gremany. IF you got the balls. I DOUBT IT, but if you DO and they are in your mouth(as it sounds like) then they are not yours. Haahaa. ballsucking Turkey!.
Imagine having a law like this in the US? The Ayatollah Khamanei calls up Obama and says I want you to prosecute Michael Savage, Mark Levin and Don Imus. With the apologist-in-chief’s feelings about Iran, who knows if he’d do it?
Or Kim Jung Un wants us to prosecute Jimmy Fallon, Bill Maher (who should be prosecuted for other reasons) or John Oliver. And how about sending some political cartoonists to jail? Or Angela Merkel wants the government to look into Kate McKinnon.
a satirical poem affecting foreign policy of a major country.
Laughable
Merkel is Obama’s puppet .She will do what she thinks Obama would support. She is responsible for whole mess in Europe. They should put her in jail already.
This shows clearly that the rest of the world does not understand liberty. Nor does it understand punishment fitting the crime. Unfortunately, those same misunderstandings are growing rapidly in the United States!
A person says something horrible about a government, and somehow the government, with all its voices and all its power, cannot counteract the person’s words? And, as big and powerful as it is, that government is hurt or damaged in some way by the words of one person? And him a comedian, no less, whose words are for entertainment, not serious discourse.
1. If we’re not free to criticize government, any government, then ruling despots are free to violate any human rights they choose to violate.
2. The truth is usually an adequate defense against false or deceptive accusations.
3. Were those poor, defenseless, government officials in such great physical pain, did they lose so much money, were they kidnapped or imprisoned by the comedian’s words so that a jail term or other punishment is warranted? Seems to me that the punishment for giving an insult would be getting an insult.