German satirist Jan Bohmermann sues Angela Merkel over Erdogan poem remark

German comedian Jan Bohmermann is seeking an injunction against German Chancellor Angela Merkel over her comments about his controversial poem about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Deutsche Welle reported.

Bohmermann's "Schmähgedicht" — or "defamatory poem" — sparked a diplomatic crisis between Germany and Turkey in 2016 and led to an investigation against the German comedian, the source reminds.

At the time, Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters that the chancellor believed the poem to be "purposefully offensive."

Shortly afterwards, the German government authorized prosecutors to review the poem in court, as requested by Turkey. Bohmermann's lawyer argued that this amounted to a pre-trial and had considerable consequences for his client.

The chancellor later said that her remark on the poem was a mistake.