Germany Turkey: Merkel allows inquiry into comic's Erdogan insult

 

The German government has approved a criminal inquiry into a comic who mocked the Turkish president, Chancellor Angel Merkel announced.

By law, the government must approve any use of an article of the criminal code on insulting foreign leaders.
Mrs Merkel stressed that the courts would have the final word.
And she added that her government would move to repeal the article. Turkey sought the prosecution after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was mocked.
Prosecutors will have to decide whether to proceed against comedian Jan Boehmermann, who crudely mocked Mr Erdogan in a poem. If convicted he could face a fine or a prison sentence.
Some experts say he has a strong defence because his poem could be seen as part of a wider piece of satire about free speech, rather than a deliberate insult, the BBC's Damien McGuinness reports from Berlin.
An earlier remark by Mrs Merkel that the poem was "deliberately offensive" laid her open to accusations that she was not standing up for free speech because Europe needed Turkey to help solve the migrant crisis.
Mrs Merkel said the government would seek to repeal Paragraph 103 in the penal code, concerning insults against foreign heads of state.
She said her government was divided over whether Boehmermann should face prosecution. The comedian was given police protection this week.
The poem was broadcast by ZDF television two weeks ago. The public TV channel has decided not to broadcast his weekly satire programme this week because of the furore surrounding Boehmermann.

A rarely used article of the criminal code

Paragraph 103 of Germany's penal code, on defamation of organs and representatives of foreign states, has the following to say:
(1) Whosoever insults a foreign head of state, or, with respect to his position, a member of a foreign government who is in Germany in his official capacity, or a head of a foreign diplomatic mission who is accredited in the Federal territory shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding three years or a fine, in case of a slanderous insult to imprisonment from three months to five years.
Criminal code in full (in English)

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Mrs Merkel said Paragraph 103 was "expendable" so her government would seek to get it repealed by 2018.
Before announcing that Boehmermann could be prosecuted she stressed that her government expected Turkey to comply with EU democratic norms in the areas of free speech and judicial independence.
"In a state under the rule of law, it is not a matter for the government but rather for state prosecutors and courts to weigh personal rights issues and other concerns affecting press and artistic freedom," she said.
"The presumption of innocence applies," she stressed, explaining that she was not making any prejudgement about Boehmermann.

Mr Erdogan has drawn much criticism in Turkey and internationally for attacking opponents, including harassment of journalists. Many accuse him of authoritarian methods, stifling legitimate dissent and promoting an Islamist agenda.
Some Germans worry that Mrs Merkel is compromising on freedom of expression in order to ensure Turkey's continued co-operation to stem the influx of migrants into the EU.
Thomas Oppermann, head of the Social Democrat (SPD) group in the German parliament, tweeted: "Prosecution of satire due to 'lese majesty' does not fit with modern democracy."