On Friday, a court banned the screening of a film inspired by the real case of a self-confessed cannibal. This happened less than a week before it was due to open in German movie theaters.
A state court in Kassel, Germany upheld a complaint against the film "Butterfly -- A Grimm Love Story" based on the story of Armin Meiwes, a real-life cannibal who shocked Germany and the world with his crime.
Meiwes is currently being retried by a Frankfurt court for the March 2001 killing at his home in the central town of Rotenburg of a man who answered his Internet posting seeking a young man for "slaughter and consumption."
He has said he would not have killed his victim had the man not asked to die.
Meiwes was convicted of manslaughter in early 2004 and sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison, but federal judges overturned the verdict and ordered a retrial after prosecutors appealed in hopes of gaining a tougher sentence.
The court which banned the film on Friday stated that although Meiwes' case was of great media interest, it did not give its makers any right to portray the case in a horror film.
It added that the film directed by Martin Weisz and starring Hollywood actor Thomas Kretschmann (of "King Kong" fame) in the main role, infringed Meiwes' personal rights, a fact that outweighed the value of artistic freedom.
