German prosecutors said on Tuesday that they had dropped an investigation into a German comedian who was accused of offending a foreign leader after reciting an obscene poem about Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on national television.

Comedian Jan Boehmermann read out a poem on a satirical show in March suggesting Erdogan engaged in bestiality and watched child pornography, prompting Erdogan to file a complaint with prosecutors that he had been insulted.

The German government had given prosecutors the green light to pursue the case against Boehmermann - a move which brought Chancellor Angela Merkel strong criticism. But prosecutors on Tuesday said they had not found sufficient evidence to support the filing of charges.