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A German court has upheld its ban on a satirical poem that mocks Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to BBC report, the Hamburg court said that it stands by its order, issued last May, which prohibited republication of parts of a poem by German comic Jan Boehmermann.

The poem, first broadcast in 2016, led to a free speech debate in Germany, and diplomatic tension with Turkey. But in a statement, the court said: "Satire that is secured under artistic freedom could be forbidden when it touches on the core area of personal freedom."

However, the court also said that a head of state must expect heavier criticism than a regular citizen.

The source reminds, that the poem played on President Erdogan's reputation for cracking down on free speech at home, included vulgar sexual references. The Turkish president filed a criminal complaint against the satirist after it was broadcast on German television last March.

The criminal charges were later dropped, but the poem remains banned in Germany.

In its first ruling, the court in Hamburg said that comments on Erdogan's treatment of freedom of speech were allowed, but said the sexual references were unacceptable.
The court objected to 18 of the poem's 24 lines, deeming them "abusive and defamatory".