Written by German television comedian Jan Böhmermann in response to Turkey’s arrests and prosecution of government-critical journalists and other censorious activities, Defamation Poem has now been banned in Germany.
Jan Böhmermann sparked a free speech powder keg with his “Defamatory Poem,” broadcast in April in response to the German ambassador to Turkey being summoned to “explain” and “justify” a separate, milder video mocking Ergodan. In a bid to show Ergodan what real defamation looked like, he recited the poem on a set containing the Turkish flag and a portrait of Ergodan, replete with Turkish subtitles.
For his efforts, Mr. Böhmermann was rewarded with criminal proceedings under the rarely used Paragraph 103 of the German criminal code, which bans insults aimed at foreign dignitaries. Contravention of the law carries a penalty of a fine or up to three years in jail; five if the comments are deemed slanderous.
The law also stipulates that the German government must decide whether or not to pursue charges. In a move seen by many as capitulation to her Turkish overlords, Merkel duly gave permission for the charges to be pressed.
Polls show the German people disagreed with her decision by more than two to one.
In response to the perceived launch of a criminal case against a German citizen for the pleasure of a thin-skinned foreign leader, Mr. Böhmermann complained that Ms. Merkel has “filleted me [and] served me up to a neurotic despot for tea”.
A German member of parliament was heavily criticised last week after he recited the poem, line for line, in the chamber. Ironically, he only read the work as a means to prove how offensive it was, and to show his support for Ms. Merkel seeking to prosecute the comedian for offending a foreign head of state.
Now Mr. Böhmermann has been banned by a Hamburg court from repeating the majority of the poem in public. Out of the 24 lines of the poem, only six were deemed legal.
It is the pleasure of Breitbart London to reproduce an English translation of this poem in full. Although some of the rhyming couplets have been lost in translation from German to English, the poem has lost none of its humorous intent.
Defamation Poem, by Jan Böhmermann
Stupid as fuck, cowardly and uptight,
Is Erdogan, the president,
His gob smells of bad döner,
Even a pig’s fart smells better,
He’s the man who hits girls,
While wearing a rubber mask,
But goat-fucking he likes the best,
And having minorities repressed,Kicking Kurds,
Beating Christians,
While watching kiddie porn,
And even at night, instead of sleep,
It’s time for fellatio with a hundred sheep,Yep, Erdogan is definitely
The president with a tiny dick,
Every Turk will tell you all,
The stupid fool has wrinkly balls,
From Ankara to Istanbul,
They all know the man is gay,
Perverted, louse-infested, a zoophile,
Recep Fritzl PriklopilHead as empty as his balls,
Of every gang-bang party he’s the star,
Till his cock burns when he has a piss,
That’s Recep Erdogan,
The Turkish president.
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