The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is seeking an injunction against the chief executive of the German publisher Axel Springer.

The president’s lawyer, Ralf Höcker, said Erdoğan was taking legal action due to Mathias Döpfner’s support for a poem read out by comedian Jan Böhmermann on German television in March.

In an open letter published inGermany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper in April, Döpfner expressed solidarity with Böhmermann, saying he had laughed out loud at the poem and “wholeheartedly” supported what the comedian had said.

Höcker said he would recommend that Erdoğan pursue his case with a higher German court if the preliminary injunction was rejected, as expected. The president’s office was not immediately available for comment.

A spokeswoman for Springer said: “We do not yet have any information about this. It’s important to note that Mr Döpfner wanted to defend the freedom of art and satire in his open letter – that was the reason for his letter.”

Höcker’s law firm published a statement on its website on Monday saying it had succeeded in getting a preliminary injunction against the German director and producer Uwe Boll who, in a video posted online, defended Böhmermann’s poem.

“Mr Erdoğan is a human being and human dignity is inviolable,” Höcker said, adding that this was placed above the freedom of press, art and opinion in the German constitution.

Erdoğan is known for his sensitivity to criticism and Turkish prosecutors have opened more than 1,800 cases against people perceived to have insulted him since he became president in 2014.

The german chancellor, Angela Merkel, drew heavy criticism for allowing prosecutors to pursue a case against Böhmermann.