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Comment by FabHK | Hacker News Reader

Not so fast. That was German satirist Jan Böhmermann reading a "poem" on TV about Turkish president Erdoğan (the content is not really important, but it was rather insulting, and purposefully so: calling him dumb, cowardly, and smelly; alleging he beat little girls, fucked goats, watched child porn, and subjugated minorities, and so on.)

Now, as it happens, Germany has a paragraph on its criminal code, § 103, that prohibits insulting foreign heads of state. Thus, prosecution was initiated. However:

1. The case was dropped.

2. In fact, legislative proceedings to drop § 103 are on their way.

So, I'm not too worried about the freedom of political speech in Germany. Holocaust denial and nazi propaganda are prohibited, for historical reasons, but apart from that political speech is free and vigorous.

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I don't see anything wrong with a person calling a head of state mean names.

That's like the definition of political speech.

Yeah. "Smelly goatfucker" might not be the most political of insults, but the guy certainly made a point (plus he did have actual politics in there, e.g. the one on suppressing minorities).

Also, I'm glad that this §103 will be canned - it's uncomfortably close to the Lèse-majesté laws e.g. in Thailand (that are actually used to suppress political opposition).

I see makes sense.

The satirist was (and remains) free to express himself.

The law still exists, right? Maybe the case won't be dropped next time. So no.

Germany has been criticized by many for their questionable free speech. Snowden is one famous person to do this.

The right to offend is also considered by many to be an important part of free speech-1.

In fact, I'm not so sure why the person responding to me is not at all worried. Even if the law is dropped, and this particular prosecution dropped, the fact remains: "a political artist was prosecuted for a poem insulting a politician."

If his point is simply Germany has better free speech than other countries, naming Thailand; then OK, I agree, but they're still getting close to treading a dangerous line.

1-https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/16/free-s...

> The right to offend is also considered by many to be an important part of free speech.

It sure is (as for example, highlighting, insulting and mocking absurd religious beliefs), fully on your page there.

That is also the consensus in Germany, and consequently that particular paragraph of the penal code is scheduled to be deleted by 2018. That's one reason I'm not worried about it.

Another is this: Reporters Without Borders has consistently rated Germany in the top 20 in its Press Freedom Index over the last decades, indeed better than, say, Thailand (at 142), the USA (at 43), or the UK (at 40). US-based Freedom House in their "Freedom of the Press" report rates Germany at 25, US at 33, and UK at 39.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_Freedom_Index

To be clear:

§103 is being removed, a paragraph that had a useful existence when it was easy to start a war by insulting a foreign head.

The "right to offend" is not being instated however, as §185 (law against insults) still exists and won't be removed, as it serves as a useful outlet for insulted people other than e.g. violence.

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