During the election campaign, Bundestag Deputy Kubicki called Turkish President Erdogan a "sewer rat." He feels so offended that he wants to take the FDP politician to court. The animal comparison portrays the Turkish president as "morally neglected" and "disgusting".
Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki is threatened with criminal proceedings for his recent statements about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. This is reported by the "Spiegel". During an election campaign in Hildesheim, the FDP politician described Erdoğan as a "little sewer rat" and sharply criticized his refugee policy in this context.
In a letter dated September 29, the Cologne lawyer Mustafa Kaplan filed a criminal complaint against Kubicki on Erdogan's behalf and also filed a criminal complaint for insult and defamation. The seven-page letter went to the Hildesheim public prosecutor's office because of the local jurisdiction and is available to "Spiegel".
Kaplan writes that the term "sewer rat" should be understood to mean that Erdogan is a person "who is seen as morally neglected, morally degraded and disgusting". Kubicki is not concerned with factual criticism, but solely with defamation. Aggravated by the fact that Erdoğan found the expression "also for religious reasons" difficult to accept. Incidentally, Kubicki indirectly accused the President of using refugees as a means of exerting pressure on the West. That is demonstrably untrue.
Kubicki drew the controversial animal equal at a campaign event in Hildesheim. The FDP politician later defended his statements: A "little sewer rat" is a "small, cute, yet clever and devious creature". Kubicki further explained that he made the statement as part of a statement on the refugee policy of the Turkish President, who had struck a deal with the European Union to reduce the number of refugees, which was beneficial for Turkey. The Turkish government condemned Kubicki's statements "strongly" and summoned the German ambassador.
