Image copyright Reuters Image caption Satirist Jan Boehmermann poked fun at Turkey's president in an obscene poem on TV

German prosecutors have dropped an investigation into a TV comedian accused of insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. But Angela Merkel controversially granted a request from the Turkish government to open an investigation into whether the satirist had broken a little-used section of Germany’s criminal code, which bans insulting the representatives of international governments. Boehmermann had read the poem on ZDF television to illustrate what he said wouldn't be allowed in Germany, contrasting it with another channel's earlier satirical song that also poked fun at Erdogan and angered Turkey. Image copyright AFP Image caption Mr Erdogan has drawn much criticism in Turkey and internationally for attacking political opponents

In a statement on Tuesday, the prosecutors said that "criminal actions could not be proven with the necessary certainty". They said it was "questionable" whether the poem constituted slander, given the satirical context in which Boehmermann recited it and the fact that it wasn't intended to convey his own view of "personal traits of the Turkish president." A rarely used article of the criminal code

Paragraph 103 of Germany's penal code, on defamation of organs and representatives of foreign states, has the following to say:

(1) Whosoever insults a foreign head of state, or, with respect to his position, a member of a foreign government who is in Germany in his official capacity, or a head of a foreign diplomatic mission who is accredited in the federal territory shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding three years or a fine, in case of a slanderous insult to imprisonment from three months to five years.
German prosecutors drop a case against comedian Jan Böhmermann, who had been indicted for a satirical poem about Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.