POLITICO Europe Verified account @POLITICOEurope German court upholds ruling banning German comedian from reciting poem making fun of Turkish President Erdoğan
A German court on Friday upheld an earlier ruling which bans German comedian Jan Böhmermann from reciting parts of a poem making fun of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, local media reported.
The court in Hamburg ruled in May that re-publication of 18 “abusive and defamatory” verses in the 24-verse poem was not allowed and said the sexual references directed at the Turkish president were unacceptable.
Böhmermann called Erdoğan a “pervert,” a “zoophile” and a “goat-f—-er” in a poem, which he read out during a show by German public broadcaster ZDF, after which Turkey asked Germany to file criminal charges against the comedian.
Friday’s ruling said that “artistic freedom is unconditional but not unbounded.” But it added that a head of state “must accept heavy criticism, as freedom of expression arises from the special need to criticize power.”
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Court upholds ban on anti-Erdo
