Erdogan appeals German court ruling that banned parts of satirical poem

File photo: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends an interview with Reuters at the Presidential Palace in Ankara

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has filed an appeal to a German court over a ruling that banned parts of a satirical poem, a spokesman for a court in Hamburg said on Wednesday, in a case that has worsened relations between Berlin and Ankara.

In February the court upheld an earlier ruling banning parts of the poem which suggested Erdogan engaged in bestiality and watched child pornography. Comedian Jan Boehmermann recited the poem on television last March.

The court spokesman on Wednesday declined to comment on the content of the appeal and Erdogan’s lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment but German magazine Der Spiegel said Erdogan wanted the last six lines of the poem to be banned too.