State Censorship in Germany

[klr]

It's the 21st century and Germany still has a law on the books against Lèse-majesté.

Germany will allow the potential prosecution of a top comedian after the Turkish president filed a complaint.

Jan Boehmermann had recited a satirical poem on television which made sexual references to Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Under German law, Chancellor Angela Merkel's government had to approve a criminal inquiry.

Mrs Merkel stressed that the courts would have the final word, and it was now up to prosecutors to decide whether to press charges.

The chancellor added that her government would move to repeal the controversial and little-used Article 103 of the penal code, which concerns insults against foreign heads of state, by 2018.

Boehmermann is a satirist and television presenter well-known for pushing the boundaries of German humour. He was given police protection earlier this week.

Some experts say he has a strong defence against potential charges, 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" had led to accusations in Germany that she was not standing up for free speech.

The poem was broadcast on ZDF television two weeks ago. The public TV channel has decided not to broadcast Boehmermann's weekly satire programme this week because of the furore surrounding him.

Turkish row stirs German free speech fears

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.

The article dates back to the penal code drafted when the German Empire was formed in 1871, although at that time it just applied to monarchs.

It has been little used in recent years and is colloquially known as the "Shah law" among German lawyers after the Shah of Persia successfully brought a case against a Cologne newspaper in 1964.

A Swiss man living in Bavaria was also prosecuted under the article in 2007, after he posted offensive comments about the then-Swiss President, Micheline Calmy-Rey, on the internet, according to German and Swiss media.

...

continued: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36055488

[pErvinalia]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has authorized a criminal investigation into whether comedian Jan Böhmermann broke the law when he read a satirical poem about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on German television.
Erdogan has complained that the poem was a smear -- and one that violated an obscure German law against insulting representatives of foreign countries.
Whether the comedian will be charged will be decided by a prosecutor. But under this law, no prosecution could have even been considered without the approval of the government.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/15/europ ... osecution/

[cronus]

You mean he took the urine out of that Turkish leader who was afterall leading Turkey, a Muslim cracker-jack country....? Good thing Germany got no substantial trade deals with Saudi Arabia, yet?

[pErvinalia]

Sorry, just posted this. Mergey merge.

[Svartalf]

You bet the court says the guy had free speech?
If he gets convicted, it will be a revolution

[JimC]

They will find a way not to prosecute him, I suspect...

Realpolitic...

[Svartalf]

Realpolitik is why he's indicted in the first place, shame Merkel.

[JimC]

Realpolitik is why he's indicted in the first place, shame Merkel.

Perhaps being indicted, even if the case is thrown out, will be enough to soothe ruffled Turkey feathers...

Calculated Realpolitik...

[Svartalf]

Knowing that egomanik erdogan, nothing less than a conviction will smoothe his feathers.

[NineBerry]

You bet the court says the guy had free speech?
If he gets convicted, it will be a revolution

Germans don't do revolutions.

[JimC]

You bet the court says the guy had free speech?
If he gets convicted, it will be a revolution

Germans don't do revolutions.

No, they prefer to encourage them in other countries to gain a military advantage... "Have a free train ticket, Herr Lenin"

[cronus]

You bet the court says the guy had free speech?
If he gets convicted, it will be a revolution

Germans don't do revolutions.

No, they prefer to encourage them in other countries to gain a military advantage... "Have a free train ticket, Herr Lenin"

Old rules. Germans have changed. Ask any Turk?

[NineBerry]

Germans don't do revolutions.

Well, after all, we are Exportweltmeister.

[JimC]

Germans don't do revolutions.

Well, after all, we are Exportweltmeister.

Quoting oneself is somewhat masturbatory...

Not that I'm calling you a wanker...

[Svartalf]

You bet the court says the guy had free speech?
If he gets convicted, it will be a revolution

Germans don't do revolutions.

Well, you bet Merkel and her party lose the next major elections until she's out of power.