12 April 2016•Update: 20 April 2016
BERLIN
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has dismissed criticisms she is compromising on freedoms by not refusing Ankara’s request to open a court case against a German comedian for his poem mocking the Turkish president.
Merkel said on Tuesday that basic democratic values have utmost importance for her government, irrespective of close cooperation with Turkey in addressing the refugee crisis.
Speaking at a Berlin news conference, Merkel said: “We have basic values in our constitution. Article 5 of the constitution refers to freedom of thought, freedom of science and of course artistic freedom.
“And these basic values are valid irrespective of our talks among each other on various problems, including the refugee situation.”
The Chancellor has been sharply criticized by opposition parties and several media outlets for not rejecting a request by Turkey to open a court case against comedian Jan Bohmermann, who read an insulting poem about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on a TV show relayed on public broadcaster ZDFneo two weeks ago.
The poem included graphic insults against Erdogan and sparked uproar in Turkey. The German public broadcaster removed it from its web page on April 1, and also deleted it from its archive.
Chancellor Merkel confirmed on Tuesday that Turkey requested the prosecution of the comedian in a diplomatic note sent to the German Foreign Ministry last week.
“This request will now be examined by the federal government, with the participation of relevant ministries. We will do it very carefully. As we have said earlier, this assessment will be concluded in the coming days,” she said.
According to a little-used legislation, Article 103 of the German penal code says any German citizen who insults a foreign head of state can face imprisonment not exceeding three years or a fine, but in case of a slanderous insult, to imprisonment from three months to five years.
Article 104a of the same law states that such offences can only be prosecuted if the foreign government concerned makes a request to the federal German government, and it accepts this request.
Last week Merkel criticized the comedian’s poem as a “deliberate insult” to Erdogan, but also underlined the great importance her government attaches to freedom of expression and media freedom.
