Favorite Chancellor Angela Merkel alienated a broad swathe of the German public on Friday by approving a request from Turkey to prosecute Jan Böhmermann, a comedian who insulted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by reading an obscene poem about him on late-night television. In the same statement, however, Merkel said that her government would move…
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Germany Could Charge Comic for Insulting Turkey’s President
Favorite Americans wondering what life might be like in the near future — after a President Donald Trump acts on his promise to “open up our libels laws,” so that politicians with easily bruised egos can sue reporters or commentators for hurting their feelings — should pay attention to what is happening this week in…
German Television Pulls Satire Mocking Turkey’s Erdogan
Favorite GERMANY’S STATE BROADCASTER, ZDF, apologized on Friday for what it called satire that had crossed the line into slander and removed video of a comedian reading an obscene poem about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from its website and YouTube channel. The poem, which was read by the German satirist Jan Böhmermann on Thursday’s…