https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Germany in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed A Hamburg court Friday barred a TV comedian from reciting in full his so-called "defamatory poem" against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan which sparked a diplomatic row last year. https://www.thelocal.de/20170210/german-court-bans-large-parts-of-poem-insulting-erdogan Fri, 10 Feb 2017 12:50:32 +0100 german-court-bans-large-parts-of-poem-insulting-erdogan Prosecutors have again dismissed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's attempt to have comedian Jan Böhmermann prosecuted over a poem he read on TV that insulted the Turkish leader. https://www.thelocal.de/20161014/erdogans-next-attempt-to-punish-german-comedian-fails Fri, 14 Oct 2016 16:39:07 +0200 erdogans-next-attempt-to-punish-german-comedian-fails Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lost a German court battle against a top media boss Tuesday when his appeal in a bitter row over free speech was thrown out. https://www.thelocal.de/20160621/cologne-court-blocks-erdogan-attempt-to-silence-media-boss Tue, 21 Jun 2016 16:29:05 +0200 cologne-court-blocks-erdogan-attempt-to-silence-media-boss A Hamburg court on Tuesday banned the author of a poem lampooning Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from publicly reciting passages from his work. https://www.thelocal.de/20160518/court-bans-comic-from-reading-erdogan-bestiality-poem Wed, 18 May 2016 10:19:43 +0200 court-bans-comic-from-reading-erdogan-bestiality-poem A conservative politician extensively quoted a poem in parliament on Tuesday which accused the Turkish president of having a penchant for child porn. https://www.thelocal.de/20160512/mp-gaffes-reciting-explicit-erdogan-poem-on-live-tv Thu, 12 May 2016 16:56:34 +0200 mp-gaffes-reciting-explicit-erdogan-poem-on-live-tv A German court on Tuesday threw out a bid by Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for an injunction against the boss of German media giant Axel Springer in a widening row over free speech. https://www.thelocal.de/20160510/erdogan-launches-bid-to-gag-germanys-biggest-publisher Tue, 10 May 2016 16:29:14 +0200 erdogan-launches-bid-to-gag-germanys-biggest-publisher A burger restaurant in Cologne has been forced to close its doors after receiving threats for serving an 'Erdogan burger'. https://www.thelocal.de/20160509/cologne-burger-joint-forced-to-close-after-erdogan-burger-row Mon, 09 May 2016 17:02:47 +0200 cologne-burger-joint-forced-to-close-after-erdogan-burger-row The German comedian behind a “smear poem” which outraged Turkey and unleashed hot-tempered debate on freedom of speech across Europe has spoken for the first time since the affair - and he had sharp words for the Chancellor. https://www.thelocal.de/20160504/merkel-filleted-me-and-served-me-to-erdogan-for-tee Wed, 04 May 2016 11:08:50 +0200 merkel-filleted-me-and-served-me-to-erdogan-for-tee Berlin-based newspaper die tageszeitung published a German-Turkish edition on Tuesday, World Press Freedom Day, that denounced media censorship under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and European silence about it. https://www.thelocal.de/20160503/german-daily-rips-into-turkey-in-bilingual-edition Tue, 03 May 2016 16:12:48 +0200 german-daily-rips-into-turkey-in-bilingual-edition State prosecutors plan to interview TV satirist Jan Böhmermann before deciding whether to go ahead with a case against him under a little-used law against insulting foreign heads of state. https://www.thelocal.de/20160426/prosecutors-to-interview-comic-over-erdogan-poem Tue, 26 Apr 2016 13:35:54 +0200 prosecutors-to-interview-comic-over-erdogan-poem The battle over TV satirist Jan Böhmermann continues to divide Germany's governing coalition in Berlin, a newspaper report suggested on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.de/20160421/law-on-insulting-heads-of-state-could-be-binned-immediately Thu, 21 Apr 2016 10:38:03 +0200 law-on-insulting-heads-of-state-could-be-binned-immediately A German comedian whose satirical poem about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has unleashed a bitter row about freedom of speech has decided to suspend his own TV show, he announced on his Facebook page on Saturday. https://www.thelocal.de/20160417/german-comic-in-erdogan-satire-row-suspends-tv-show Sun, 17 Apr 2016 11:55:08 +0200 german-comic-in-erdogan-satire-row-suspends-tv-show The German government will allow state prosecutors to prepare a case against satirist Jan Böhmermann under a little-used law against insulting foreign heads of state, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday. https://www.thelocal.de/20160415/merkel-allows-erdogans-case-against-tv-host-to-go-ahead Fri, 15 Apr 2016 15:14:04 +0200 merkel-allows-erdogans-case-against-tv-host-to-go-ahead There was good news for satirist Jan Böhmermann on Thursday, as broadcaster ZDF published a legal opinion claiming a "smear poem" he directed at Turkey's President was within the bounds of the law. https://www.thelocal.de/20160414/legal-opinion-finds-erodgan-smear-poem-not-criminal Thu, 14 Apr 2016 19:27:05 +0200 legal-opinion-finds-erodgan-smear-poem-not-criminal The centre-left Social Democratic Party said on Tuesday that Germany should scrap a law against insulting foreign leaders – which has been used by the Turkish President to target a German comedian. https://www.thelocal.de/20160413/calls-grow-to-scrap-law-on-insulting-foreign-leaders Wed, 13 Apr 2016 10:41:59 +0200 calls-grow-to-scrap-law-on-insulting-foreign-leaders TV satirist Jan Böhmermann has cancelled his regular show for this week as he faces potential legal action from the German government and Turkish President over a "libellous poem". https://www.thelocal.de/20160412/merkel-accused-of-big-mistake-over-erdogan-poem Tue, 12 Apr 2016 13:14:50 +0200 merkel-accused-of-big-mistake-over-erdogan-poem Germany’s hippest young comedian faces a jail sentence of up to five years if Turkey decides to press charges over a poem he wrote insulting its head of state. https://www.thelocal.de/20160406/german-comedian-could-face-jail-for-insulting-erdogan Wed, 06 Apr 2016 14:17:06 +0200 german-comedian-could-face-jail-for-insulting-erdogan When British synth-pop duo Hurts teamed up with Germany’s most popular late night entertainer - they gave 'trash music' a new and brilliant meaning. https://www.thelocal.de/20160311/video-british-pop-band-unite-with-german-trash-orchestra Fri, 11 Mar 2016 12:42:01 +0100 video-british-pop-band-unite-with-german-trash-orchestra