Böhmermann insulting poem remains further prohibited!

The Regional Court (LG) Hamburg confirmed in the main proceedings Erdoğan ./. Böhmermann the decision of the court already handed down previously in the interim relief proceedings and further prohibited some passages of the insulting poem. However, the final word has not yet been spoken here.

Jan Böhmermann had recited in his programme "Neo Magazin Royale" a poem described as "insulting criticism" in which he explained to the Turkish President in very vivid fashion where the limits of the right to freedom of expression relative to freedom of the arts lie.

The trigger for the poem was the summoning of the German ambassador due to a critical but relatively harmless contribution broadcast on ZDF which was also directed at Erdoğan. The Turkish President took action against the insulting poem for violation of his personal rights inter alia because of the following passages:

His patter stinks terribly of döner,
even a pig's fart smells nicer"

and

"Beat Kurds, hit Christians
and whilst watching child pornography.
And even in the evenings it's
instead of sleeping, fellatio with a hundred sheep.
Yes, Erdogan is entirely,
a president with a small penis."

or also

"Every Turk you hear whistling,
the stupid pig has shrivelled balls.
From Ankara to Istanbul
everyone knows this man is gay,
perverted, lousy and zoophile—
Recep Fritzl Priklopil.
His head as empty as his testicles,
the star at every gangbang party.
Until his cock burns when peeing,
that is Recep Erdogan, the Turkish President."

In the course of the interim relief proceedings (we have reported) the Regional Court (LG) Hamburg issued the requested interim relief order against television presenter Jan Böhmermann in part and prohibited him from repeating the above-quoted parts of his poem as "insulting criticism".

In this matter a judgment in the main proceedings has now been handed down.

Regional Court (LG) Hamburg further prohibits parts of the insulting poem

In the main proceedings too, the Regional Court (LG) Hamburg by judgment of 10.02.1017, Az. 324 O 402/16 ("Pressemitteilung") did not change its legal interpretation and prohibited the above-quoted parts of the insulting poem due to violation of the general personal rights of Recep Erdoğan. However, the action – as previously the application for interim relief – was only granted in part, since Erdoğan wanted to have the poem banned in its entirety.press releaseThe Regional Court (LG) Hamburg thus rejected Böhmermann's argument that the poem should be regarded as a complete work and protected under freedom of the arts. It contributed to public opinion formation regarding the limits of satire. Moreover, the claimant's handling of his critics was to be taken into account, since Erdoğan had taken the suppression of critical voices to extremes.

The court argued, by contrast, that according to the Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG), freedom of the arts is indeed unrestricted but not unlimited. If it collides with other values such as the constitutionally protected general personal right, a balancing is required, which here had to be decided in favour of the Turkish President. In this regard it was to be noted that satire could certainly claim a broad scope of freedom. However, satire protected by freedom of the arts could also touch the general personal right of the person concerned so deeply in its core that it was to be prohibited. In the matter of the passages quoted above, that is the situation here.

Conclusion

In this matter the final word has not yet been spoken. It is to be assumed that the dispute will at least be taken to the next instance. It will then become apparent whether the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Hamburg will also prohibit only parts of the insulting poem. From our perspective, it seems more consistent either to entirely deny the insulting poem created as a unified work of satire due to the violation of personal rights or, after weighing in particular the overall context, to entirely permit it on grounds of freedom of the arts.