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Turkey Demand Germany Arrest Comedian Who Insulted Erdogan

Turkey has put pressure on Germany to arrest and prosecute a comedian who insulted Turkish President Erdogan on live TV last month.  Turkey’s ambassador in Berlin sent a diplomatic note to the Foreign Ministry asking them to launch a criminal investigation into ‘crimes’ commited by comedian Jan Böhmermann who read out a satirical poem allegedly ‘insulting’ President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on a 31st March TV show. Dw.com reports: Böhmermann, an award winning comedian and host of late-night talk show Neo Magazin Royale, added gas to a diplomatic spat between Germany and Turkey over free speech with his March 31 show on public television. On the broadcast, Böhmermann, seated before the Turkish flag and a portrait of Erdogan, accused the president of, among other things, sex with goats and sheep. Böhmermann also charged that Erdogan loves to “repress minorities, kick Kurds and beat Christians while watching child porn.” Böhmermann aired the poem after Turkish officials called in Germany’s ambassador to protest a satirical song aired on NDR, another public broadcaster, that had lampooned Erdogan in much tamer language. That two-minute clip, “Erdowie, Erdowo, Erdogan,” took aim at the president for his alleged spending excesses and his government’s crackdown on civil liberties. While [...]