Hear someone insult Erdogan? Report it to us, says Turkish consulate in the Netherlands.

What should someone in the Netherlands do if someone says something "derogatory" or "defamatory" about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan? According to an email sent out by Ankara's consulate in Rotterdam, Turkish organizations in the country should write in to report the insult.

This email, uncovered by Dutch news organizations Thursday, has sparked anger in the Netherlands, with the Dutch prime minister demanding an explanation from Turkish authorities. To Turkey's critics, the message seems to show that Erdogan, long accused of cracking down on dissent domestically, was now abusing antiquated European laws in a bid to silence his international critics.


"I am surprised," Prime Minister Mark Rutte told reporters in Germany during a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "It's not clear what the Turkish government aims to achieve with this action."

The news of the email comes less than a week after Merkel herself announced that she would allow Jan Boehmermann, a German comedian and writer known for his acerbic style, to be prosecuted for a poem he had read on television about Erdogan. Boehmermann's poem was designed to crudely mock the Turkish president, accusing him of sex with goats and saying that Erdogan loved to "repress minorities, kick Kurds and beat Christians while watching child porn."

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/04/22/hear-someone-insult-erdogan-report-it-to-us-says-turkish-consulate-in-the-netherlands/