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German prosecutors drop investigation into comedian Jan Böhmermann for 'poem' insulting Erdogan
German prosecutors have found insufficient evidence to charge comedian Jan Böhmermann for his televised poem insulting Turkey's president. Böhmermann was responding to Recep Tayyip Erdogan's lust for libel litigation.
German prosecutors on Tuesday dropped a controversial investigation into German comedian Jan Böhmermann for reading a poem insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying there was insufficient evidence to charge the comedian.
The Turkish government filed charges in April against the "Neo Magazin Royale" host after he read a lewd poem on ZDFneo television. The poem was a mixture of genuine criticism of Turkish policy - for instance towards Kurds - and lewd allegations about Erdogan personally, including saying he had sex with goats and engaged in sodomy.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed authorities to launch an investigation into Böhmermann, citing paragraph 103 of Germany's penal code, an archaic law which protects foreign heads of state from insult.
In order for the investigation to move forward permission from the German government was required, prompting an outpouring of criticism on Merkel for restricting free speech and know-towing to Turkey.
The case led to a growing chorus of calls for the archaic law to be abolished.
Prosecutors in Mainz said in a statement on Tuesday that "criminal activity could not be proven with sufficient certainty." It also found that there was insufficient evidence to charge those involved in the production or broadcast of the poem.
The poem from Böhmermann was in response to Erdogan pressing charges against another German satirical show for a song criticizing Erdogan. Ahead of delivering the poem, Böhmermann said that it was designed to demonstrate to Erdogan the difference between criticism and unsubstantiated insults that might test Germany's defamation laws.
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