Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has started a legal action against the German TV comic, Jan Boehmermann over the contentious Erdogan poem. Erdogan is accusing Boehmermann of defamation. According to the Turkish authorities, the satirist went beyond his sketch by insulting the Turkish president of rough jokes.
As reported by Neurope, Erdogan filed a legal complaint in the city of Mainz after the Erdogan poem was aired in a comic TV sketch at the ZDF channel on March 31. After the Turkish government asked the humorist to be investigated, the Turkish Foreign Ministry also requested the German Ambassador to Turkey, Martin Erdmann to stop the circulation of an NDR video that allegedly mocks Erdogan. After the Erdogan poem, Boehmermann was accused of "crime against humanity" by the Turkish government.
Meanwhile, Turkish Chancellor, Angela Merkel, is in the midst of tension after the Turkish government personally asked Boehmermanno be prosecuted over the Erdogan poem. However, she insisted that she wouldn't compromise on democratic principles to safeguard the EU's refugee deal, The Guardian claims.
"I want to stress again what was stressed yesterday - we have the fundamental values in the constitution and that includes article 5, which is the freedom of opinion, freedom of science and of course, the freedom of art," she said when asked about a complaint filed by Tayyip Erdoğan against Jan Böhmermann on Monday.
According to BBC, Boehmermann, regarded as Germany's most incisive satirist, deliberately included material in the Erdogan poem that violated German laws on freedom of speech. The Erdogan poem particularly mentioned the suppression of Turkish minorities and references on sex with sheep and goats. According to German Criminal Code under paragraph 3, insulting organs or representatives of foreign states could send someone to up to five years in prison.
Boehmermann is presently placed under police protection after he and his family have been receiving threats due to the Erdogan poem. According to reports, the satirist is receiving threats from supporters of the Turkish president. The German prosecutors are still investigating whether Boehmermann violated a law when he performed the Erdogan poem.
