German police investigate man for 'insulting' Chancellor Merz with Pinocchio emoji

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN (AA) - A retired German man faces criminal investigation after comparing Chancellor Friedrich Merz to Pinocchio in a Facebook comment, using a long-nosed emoji to criticize the chancellor's unfulfilled promises.

The man received a letter from criminal police three months after his social media post, informing him of the probe under Paragraph 188 of the German Criminal Code, which prohibits insults against politicians, according to a report by the Heilbronner Stimme newspaper.

In a statement to police, the retiree defended his comment as protected speech that did not amount to a deliberate insult against any specific person. He urged authorities to drop the investigation.

A police spokesperson said comments on the department's social media channels are monitored, and potentially criminal content is forwarded to the public prosecutor's office for review.

"If a crime is suspected, police officers are obliged to investigate it," the spokesperson said. "All further decisions are made by the public prosecutor's office."

Prosecutors are reviewing the case to decide whether to file charges, the newspaper reported.

Critics have long argued that Paragraph 188 suppresses legitimate political criticism and should be abolished.