BERLIN - 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.
Erdogan had sought a court order to stop the media group's chief Mathias Doepfner from repeating support for a TV satirist who crudely insulted the Turkish leader.
The legal action came after Doepfner published an open letter in one of the group's newspapers, in which he backed Jan Boehmermann -- the satirist who in a poem accused Erdogan of bestiality and watching child pornography.
But the court dismissed Erdogan's application on the basis of the "constitutionally guaranteed right of the defendant to the freedom of expression".
"When a potential conflict arises between the fundamental right to the freedom of expression and the personal rights of the plaintiff, it is admissable for Doefpner to publicly express an opinion in this controversial debate," said Christina Harpering, spokeswoman for the Cologne court. (AFP)