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Germany drops Turkey President Erdogan insult case TV comedian Boehmermann’s poem

October 4, 2016 By administrator

boehmermann-erdogan

Satirist Jan Boehmermann poked fun at Turkey’s president in an obscene poem on TV

German prosecutors have dropped an investigation into a TV comedian accused of insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The prosecutors in the western city of Mainz said they had not found sufficient evidence to continue the inquiry against Jan Boehmermann.

In March, Boehmermann recited a satirical poem on TV which made sexual references to Mr Erdogan.

Mr Erdogan then filed a complaint alleging that he had been insulted.

In a statement on Tuesday, the prosecutors said that “criminal actions could not be proven with the necessary certainty”.

It was “questionable”, the statement added, whether Boehmermann’s poem constituted slander, given the satirical context in which the comedian recited it.

In April, German Chancellor Angela Merkel Germany said her government would allow the potential prosecution of the comedian, triggering criticism that she did not stand up for free speech.

Under German law, the cabinet had to approve a criminal inquiry.

However, Mrs Merkel added that the authorities 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.

The poem was broadcast on ZDF television. The comedian was later given police protection.

Mr Erdogan has drawn much criticism in Turkey and internationally for attacking political opponents, including harassment of journalists. Many accuse him of authoritarian methods, stifling legitimate dissent and promoting an Islamist agenda.

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.

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 then Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey on the internet.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37554167?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbc_breaking&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=news_central

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Boehmermann's, Court, court hearings, Erdogan, Germany, POEM, Turkey

Germany: Comedian Böhmermann to appeal against court injunction on Erdogan poem

May 18, 2016 By administrator

0,,19192771_303,00The German TV host has decided to appeal against a court’s decision to prevent him from reciting a poem critical of Turkish President Erdogan. The verse accuses the leader of bestiality and watching child porn.

Böhmermann’s lawyer Christian Schertz said on Wednesday that the Hamburg court’s decision to put a restriction on the poem was “blatantly wrong” and based on “technical errors.”

Schertz said he would file an appeal against the injunction and even push for a decision from the Constitutional Court. “You can’t cut up a painting and only allow parts of it to be shown,” he said.

If he failed to respect the injunction, Böhmermann would have to pay up to 250,000 euros or spend six months in jail.

‘Slanderous and defamatory’

The German judiciary system allows plaintiffs to register a case in a court of their choice. The Turkish president filed a complaint at the court in Hamburg, known to be particularly strict in cases of defamation.

The court’s judges had said on Tuesday that the poem was subject to artistic freedom but contained sexual references that were “slanderous and defamatory” of the Turkish president. They insisted that their decision was based on balancing freedom of opinion, on the one hand, and the personal rights of the plaintiff, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on the other.

“The court has found that the statements in the poem are undeniably slanderous and defamatory and that it is not a question of taste,” Erdogan’s lawyer Michael von Sprenger told reporters after the verdict was announced.

Merkel’s intentions under question

Böhmermann’s poem about Erdogan was aired on March 31 in German public television. It made fun of the Turkish leader’s authoritarian policies and accused him of indulging in child pornography and having sex with goats.

Last month, the German chancellor allowed a request from Erdogan to investigate the comedian under a law that prosecutes people insulting foreign heads of state. Although prosecutors have not yet filed charges, the incident has sparked a nationwide debate on freedom of speech in Germany.

Critics have also questioned Angela Merkel’s intentions regarding Germany’s relationship with Turkey, which is part of a multi-billion deal to take back refugees fleeing to Europe.

mg/bw (dpa, epd)

Source: DW

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Appeal, Böhmermann, Erdogan, POEM

German Lawmaker Shocks Parliament by Reciting Poem Mocking Erdogan Video

May 13, 2016 By administrator

1031241212Detlef Seif, a backbench member of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, has caused a stir in Bundestag by reciting a satirical poem that mocked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as German MPs were debating the fate of the law that was invoked to prosecute the text’s author.

The politician hailing from North Rhine-Westphalia did not recite the explicit satirical poem to support its author, comedian Jan Boehmermann, but rather to show that the text was insulting and lacked satirical merit.

“A person’s honor is under attack here and the justice must decide if these statements are still covered by freedom of expression and press,” Seif told fellow MPs, adding that he was not trying to defend Erdogan.

Yet other lawmakers did not think it was appropriate. Some gasped “unbelievable.” Renate Künast of the Green Party called Seif’s speech “embarrassing.” Christian Flisek of the Social Democrats (SPD) observed that Seif could refrain from reciting the text in its entirety.

“Keep in mind that we are in the German parliament, and that even with quotations one should not forget this fact,” Edelgard Bulmahn, a cive president of the Bundestag, told Seif.

https://youtu.be/WAwQlmq68QU

The speech was broadcast live on national TV. The comedian uploaded Seif’s speech to YouTube, turning the politician into an internet sensation. The footage has already been viewed more than 270,000 times. 

The notorious poem has been at the heart of a diplomatic scandal between Germany and Turkey that has sparked an intense debate on the state of the freedom of speech in both countries.

The explicit satirical text was first recited on March 31. The Turkish president then demanded that Jan Boehmermann be sent to trial for insulting a foreign leader under a law (section 103 of the German criminal code).

Angela Merkel gave the green light to the proceedings against the comedian, much to public discontent. She now wants to repeal the law.

If found guilty, Boehmermann could spend up to three years in prison.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Erdogan, german, lawmaker, Mocking, Parliament, POEM, Reciting, shocks

POEM Nightlife Requiem Silva Gaboudikian

January 17, 2016 By administrator

arton121041-480x480It rains … my son … autumn is wet …

Hence the gallows she arose?

All night, my eyes will not close;

0R did they take you, my son, what have they done to you?

Our whole day was spinning, peaceful,

While there swinging your frozen body …

Yes, it was that you were trying to deliver,

Egaré exalted, admittedly – but it was us.

No, you’re not dead; but we are,

Generation trapped in the torpor, we are dead.

It’s raining, my son … autumn is wet,

Wet, as the eyes of this miserable and disillusioned generation …

Silva Gabudikian poetry written for the death of Levon Ekmekdjian

Քեզ որտեղ տարան, ինչ արին տղաս. Սիլվա Կապուտիկյանը` Լեւոն Էքմեքջյանին

Սիլվա Կապուտիկյան

Գիշերային ռեքվիեմ

… Կ անձրեւէ, տղաս … աշունը թաց է,

Ուրկից հայտնվեց կախաղանը այս.

Գիշերը ամբողջ աչքերս բաց են,

Քեզ որտեղ տարան, ինչ արին տղաս:

Անխռով անցավ մեր ողջ ցերեկը,

Մինչ այնտեղ, ճոճվող քո մարմինն էր սառ …

Մեզ համար էիր որոնում ելքը,

Մոլորված, մոլի սակայն մեզ համար:

Այդ դու չմեռար, մենք ենք մեռածը,

Մենք, մեղկության մէջ հափրացած սերունդ.

Կանձրեւէ, տղաս … Աշունը թաց է,

Թաց, աչքերուն պես խեղճ, խաբված սերունդ …

Sunday, January 17, 2016,
Stéphane © armenews.com

Filed Under: Articles, Genocide Tagged With: Nightlife Requiem, POEM, Silva Gaboudikian

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