Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined the so-called Paris March in the aftermath of the 2015 Charlie Hebdo Shootings.  Although these leaders of democratic nations joined millions to protest violence against free speech, even as Muslims around the world decried the publication’s disrespectful depiction of the Prophet Muhammad, the two appear to believe insulting the Turkish President is a far more serious matter worthy of censorship.  In allowing German citizen Jan Bohmermann to be prosecuted for insulting Erdogan , Merkel undermines free speech while encouraging Erdogan’s campaign to consolidate power and crackdown on critics at home.

 Civil liberties, including freedom of speech, are supposed to ensure no one will face legal consequences for saying something that offends others.  Any law or government that fails to respect this fundamental principle degrades the very purpose of having civil liberties.  Because government scrutiny is at the heart of democracy and “free speech” ensures government officials face scrutiny, the idea that someone would face jail time for insulting a government official is thoroughly undemocratic. Citizens of democracies may not enjoy the protection of their governments and their civil liberties when in foreign lands, but they are always entitled to those protections within the free world.

Update for Aprlil 9 - 15

Satire in support of Jan Böhmermann 

Erdo-how, Erdo-where, Erdoğun – Continued

You mean to tell me that Erdoğan is still mad about the video?  Let us re-hash … first there was the song/video “Erdowie, Erdowo, Erdoğan” that aired on Germany’s NDR, a regional television channel, as I reported in my  post of 9 April 2016.

Left there, it might have been well and fine, as although Erdoğan complained to the German Ambassador and “demanded” it be removed, the German government…

Yeni makale eklendi okuun lutfen http://bolumtekparca.com/jan-bohmermann-hakkinda-sorusturma/

Jan Bohmermann Hakkinda Sorusturma

Mainz Bassavcisi Andrea Keller, yaptigi açiklamada, Böhmermann hakkinda yabanci devletlerin temsilcilerine ya da organlarina hakaret etme suçlamasiyla sorusturma yürütüldügünü anlatim etti. Yaklasik 20 insanin suç duyurusunda bulundugunu s&oumCumhurbaşkani Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Hakkinda Alman ZDF Televizyon Kanalinda Hakaret Içerikli Mizah Programi Hazirlayan Jan Böhmermann Hakkinda Mainz Savciliğinin Soruşturma Başlattiği Bildirildi.