Merkel lets comedian face prosecution for Erdoğan poem

So another WTF moment in sweet old Germany.

German chancellor under fire for agreeing to Turkish president’s request for prosecution of Jan Böhmermann

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has been criticised by members of her cabinet after acceding to a Turkish request to prosecute a comedian who read out an offensive poem about the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Merkel insisted her government’s decision did not amount to a verdict on whether Jan Böhmermann was guilty or not, but should be understood as a reaffirmation of the judiciary’s independence.

“In a constitutional democracy, weighing up personal rights against freedom of the press and freedom of expression is not a matter for governments, but for public prosecutors and courts,” Merkel said in a press conference on Friday.

The chancellor expressed “grave concerns” about the prosecution of individual journalists in Turkey, as well as growing limitations to the right to protest, but emphasised Germany’s close diplomatic ties with the country.

Merkel was left with the final decision on whether Germany’s state prosecutor should start proceedings against Böhmermann after Erdoğan requested the comedian be prosecuted.


Under an obscure paragraph of Germany’s criminal code, prosecution for insults against organs or representatives of foreign states requires both a notification from the offended party and an authorisation from the government.

Source: Merkel lets comedian face prosecution for Erdoğan poem

So in order to prosecute an artist or journalist the government of Germany needs to approve it. And they just did. Wtf is wrong with them, so long for free speech and free journalism, it is another sad day in Germany.

I think this is the poem what it is all about:

Somewhere Minster Goebbels is smiling.

a reply to: Dumbass

Angela Merkel is right up there with Janet Yellen and HRC for political whores that piss me off

a reply to: Dumbass

But it is still okay to draw a picture of mohammed with a bomb in his hat, right?

I agree with you on this, WTF!?!

ETA: Does this means that Merkel supports the Charlie Hebdo shooting?? didnt Germany support france, and the right to make satire and free speech??

a reply to: Dumbass



Ummm...In other headlines...

Chancellor Palpitine...erm...Merkel...wins the Goebbel prize...


Details at eleven...


YouSir

Stupid witch.

When satire gets you in trouble, or there are people that you can't criticize, you have problems. What's allowed in comedy is always a good indicator of your freedom IMO.

a reply to: Dumbass

Recent actions have shown that Merkel is only thinking about Merkel and not Germany or the Germans. Will they get rid of her or just suffer under her insanity until freedoms are gone and publically funded Mosques raise taxes for every German?

Well I've been following the story a bit since the complaints Erdogan made of a small videoclip that is explained in this thread made by PublicOpinion:

ATS: Turkey Protests Germany Over Satirical Erdogan Video

But I never thought they would actually consider prosecution, just you know consider to be formal about it.

the vid from that thread:

a reply to: Dumbass

Don't be a dumb ass about this, the Shah needs his paragraph!

a reply to: Dumbass


Merkel should agree to the Turkish president's terms on the condition that Germany (and the rest of the world)
be allowed to prosecute the makers of the "Turkish Star Wars" film. Unquestionably the worst movie ever produced:

a reply to: Dumbass

Merkel appeasing ISIS sympathisers, why is anybody surprised when she's the one who opened the floodgates for the whole immigration crisis at the request of Turkey, what Turkey says Germany does

it is ridiculous that she ok'd it. turkey is celebrating this as a victory already.

this doesn't mean he is guilty. the judges will decide on that.

one can only hope the judges know what is the right thing to do.

even though i gotta admit Böhmermanns songs or poems were quite.. offensive. i would love to see the court measuring erdogans penis and finding out it is as small as described.

a reply to: Dumbass

The really sad part is, Böhmermann is under police protection now, there have been bombing threats against a TV show discussing the affair and I can't watch the show, he had to cancel! bbc
Just watch what he did for Varoufakis: youtube

ETA: Does this means that Merkel supports the Charlie Hebdo shooting?? didn't Germany support france, and the right to make satire and free speech??

"Satire and free speech"? She also supports the right of NATO to bomb the Middle East from Turkish airstrips.

Keeping up appearances…

originally posted by: Dumbass
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So in order to prosecute an artist or journalist the government of Germany needs to approve it. And they just did. Wtf is wrong with them, so long for free speech and free journalism, it is another sad day in Germany.

Yeah, the law is silly and is going to be repealed.

Imho Merkels fault has been to get involved in the first place, after calling the poem "deliberately offensive", she probably saw no other choice than to approve.

I don't see how free speech and free journalism could be affected though. It is still up to the courts to judge whether an offense has been committed or not.

a reply to: moebius

An awful lot of double-speak involved with this case. They keep telling us this law is stupid (and came up with a promise to change it) but dare to use it for The Shahdogan regardless.

Which is it then?

Given the 'police-protection' we're even talking about a case of censorship, don't tell me sh!t about possible attacks. That's just a ridiculous pretext to cancel the show. Free press yadayada, we're Charlie! But we better keep our mouths shut now.

originally posted by: PublicOpinion
a reply to: moebius

An awful lot of double-speak involved with this case. They keep telling us this law is stupid (and came up with a promise to change it) but dare to use it for The Shahdogan regardless.

Which is it then?

When was the last time? Citations please.

Given the 'police-protection' we're even talking about a case of censorship, don't tell me sh!t about possible attacks. That's just a ridiculous pretext to cancel the show. Free press yadayada, we're Charlie! But we better keep our mouths shut now.

I think you are confusing police-protection with something else.

a reply to: Dumbass

Germany is one messed up place just now.

a reply to: Dumbass

Holy, Crap!

How can this even happen in a 1st world country? I always assumed Europe was similar to the U.S., but apparently freedom of speech / freedom of the press isn't the same over there. Just boggles my mind as we are so used to free speech in our country.

originally posted by: ColeYounger
a reply to: Dumbass


Merkel should agree to the Turkish president's terms on the condition that Germany (and the rest of the world)
be allowed to prosecute the makers of the "Turkish Star Wars" film. Unquestionably the worst movie ever produced:

OMG...that was epic stuff. This a true gem...

Forwarding...