International
Turkey’s Erdogan files lawsuit against German comedian
German comedian Jan Boehmermann has been slammed with a lawsuit by Turkey’s President Reccep Tayyip Erdogan after he read a satirical poem about the Turkish leader with did not go down well with him thereby creating a diplomatic headache for German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The TV host related the satirical poem to the pact between the European Union and Turkey, which involves refugee and so-called economic migrant swaps, which is now being implemented in an attempt to stop the flow of migrants to Europe.
While reading the poem, the host of the late-night Neo Magazine Royale programme on public broadcaster ZDF, also made references to bestiality and accusations that the Turkish leader repressed minorities and mistreated Kurds and Christians.
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Sources say the Turkish leader was even more vexed by the fact the incident which was aired on TV was a deliberate provocation but Merkel who is trying to mediate in the matter tried to separate the two issues but stressed her commitment to freedom of expression.
“Turkey is bearing a very big burden in relation to the Syrian civil war but all of that is completely separate from Germany’s fundamental values … freedom of the press, opinion and science apply and are completely separate from that,” she told reporters.
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