The German government has formally decided to ditch an absurd and archaic law which makes it illegal to insult the leaders of foreign countries.
Angela Merkel and her cabinet this week announced that it would legislate to remove the centuries-old legislation designed to protect rulers’ hurt feelings.
They were spurred to action after the little-used statute was revived by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was upset by a rude poem read out on German TV.
The thin-skinned autocrat was lampooned as a sexual deviant who sleeps with goats and watches child porn by the Jan Boehmermann (Pictured above alongside Erdogan) last year. Here’s one translation of what he said:
Rather than brush off the insult, the Erdogan requested that the Germany government prosecute Boehmermann.
Public prosecutors eventually dropped the case – but Erdogan renewed his efforts and is bringing a case himself.
This week’s announcement marks the start of the law being abolished, and will require the Germany Bundestag (parliament) to approve. Merkel’s cabinet aims to have scrapped the law by 2018.
Announcing the decision, German justice minister Heiko Maas said: “The regulation is obsolete and unnecessary”.
It will not come in time to stop Boehmermann going on trial. According to Deutsche Welle, Erdogan is now only seeking to have the poem banned, rather than Boehmermann locked up – though the technical maximum sentence is still three years’ imprisonment.
