Screenings of the movie “Rohtenburg” were banned in March 2006 -  just before it was due to open in German theaters – after a lower court ruled that the film infringed the personal rights of Armin Meiwes.

Meiwes is serving a life sentence for murdering and eating Bernd Juergen Brandes in 2001. Meiwes was convicted of manslaughter in 2004 and sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison after the jury found Brandes had been a willing victim.

Prosecutors appealed the conviction, arguing the court should have found Meiwes guilty of murder. In 2006 at his second trial Meiwes was convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

Meiwes and Brandes met through an internet bulletin board for gay men interested in a cannibalism fetish.

“If you are between 18 and 25 years old you are my boy. Come to me and I eat your horny flesh” his ad said.

The case came to light when Meiwes posted more ads after Meiwes death for additional victims, and readers of the postings contacted police.

When police searched Meiwes’ home they discovered neatly wrapped body parts in plastic bags which were labeled “according to cuts.”  Bones and other “non edibles” were found buried in the garden. Meiwes told police he already had  consumed about 40 pounds of Brandes’s body.

He told police that the two men had enjoyed a final meal together.  Brandes had agreed to be castrated and the two sautéed his penis and testicles.  They washed down the meal with a German white wine.

Testifying in his own defense Meiwes said that he hoped Brandes, 43, would “die all by himself” from having his penis cut off.

Meiwes, who was been dubbed the “Cannibal of Kassel” after the town where he lived, told the court that he had prayed for God’s forgiveness for both himself and for Brandes just before he severed the man’s throat.

The case both fascinated and appalled Germany, leading to the film “Rohtenburg,” directed by Martin Weisz and starring Thomas Kretschmann as a cannibal named Oliver Hartwin.

When it was banned from theaters, Weisz went to court arguing that Meiwes’ case did no more than provide inspiration for the movie.

Germany’s Federal Court of Justice ruled this week that the producers’ right to artistic freedom outweighed Meiwes’ personal rights, adding there was “a public interest in information” on the case.

The film did not misrepresent the facts of the case, which were in any case widely known, the court statement said.

But despite the ruling it is not clear whether the movie will now be screened in German theaters.

The ruling Friday by the Federal Constitutional Court is the end of the appeal process for Armin Meiwes, who is serving a life sentence for murdering and eating Bernd Juergen Brandes in 2001.

Meiwes was convicted of manslaughter in 2004 and sentenced to more than eight years in prison after the jury found Brandes had been a willing victim.

Prosecutors appealed the conviction, arguing the court should have found Meiwes guilty of murder. In 2006, at his second trial, Meiwes was convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

In his appeal to the Constitutional Court, Meiwes argued the Brandes’ death should have been classified as a mercy killing and maintained that his sentence was disproportionate.

Meiwes and Brandes met through an internet bulletin board for gay men interested in a cannibalism fetish.

“If you are between 18 and 25 years old you are my boy. Come to me and I eat your horny flesh,” his ad said.

The case came to light when Meiwes posted more ads for additional victims, and readers of the postings contacted police.

When police searched Meiwes’ home, they discovered neatly wrapped body parts in plastic bags which were labeled “according to cuts.”  Bones and other “non edibles” were found buried in the garden. Meiwes told police he already had consumed about 40 pounds of Brandes’s body.

He told police that the two men had enjoyed a final meal together. Brandes had agreed to be castrated and the two sautéed his penis and testicles.  They washed down the meal with a German white wine.

Testifying in his own defense, Meiwes said that he hoped Brandes, 43, would “die all by himself” from having his penis cut off.

Meiwes, who was been dubbed the ‘Cannibal of Kassel’ after the town where he lived, told the court that he had prayed for God’s forgiveness for both himself and for Brandes just before he severed the man’s throat.

The ruling by the German high court came less than a week after a gay man in Britain was handed a life sentence for murdering a male sex partner and then cannibalizing part of the body.

Anthony Morley was guilty in the killing of Damian Oldfield, 33.

During the trial, Morley – the winner of the Mr. Gay UK contest in 1993 – told the court that he had been grappling with his sexuality and had snapped on the night of the murder. He also testified that he did not remember most of the events after the murder.

A stunned courtroom was told by prosecution witnesses that, based on forensic tests on parts of Oldfield’s body found in Morley’s apartment, portions of Morley’s leg and chest had been sliced off.

They were then rubbed with olive oil and herbs and fried. Morley, who had worked as a chef, then consumed portions of the “meal.”

Under British law Morley, 36, must serve 30 years.

A jury took just over two hours Friday to find Morley guilty in the killing of Damian Oldfield, 33.

The public gallery in the courtroom in Leeds burst into applause Monday as Judge James Stewart passed sentence. One man yelled “murderer” and Stewart had to gavel the court to order.

Stewart called the killing “one of the most gruesome murders” he had ever encountered.

“Not only did you murder your victim by cutting his throat and stabbing him but you cut him up, cooked him and ate part of him,” Stewart said.

“Before this case I had associated cannibalism with eras long gone, with the tale of Robinson Crusoe. No longer. You have plumbed depths rarely encountered in our court.”

During the trial, Morley – the winner of the Mr. Gay UK contest in 1993 – told the court that he had been grappling with his sexuality and had snapped on the night of the murder.

But Morley testified that he did not remember most of the events after the murder.

A stunned courtroom was told by prosecution witnesses that based on forensic tests on parts of Oldfield’s body found in Morley’s apartment, portions of Morley’s leg and chest had been sliced off.

They were then rubbed with olive oil and herbs and fried. Morley, who had worked as a chef, then consumed portions of the “meal.”

“At some point Damian’s body had just become something I would deal with at work — a piece of meat. That’s the only thing I can think of. That was my daily task, preparing meat. I can’t think of any rational reason why I would think of doing something like that,” Morley told the court.

It is not the first time a gay man has been arrested for murder and cannibalizing his victims.

Two separate cases occurred in Germany.

The most famous involved Armin Meiwes, 44, who is serving time for murdering and devouring Bernd Juergen Brandes, 43, in 2001.

Meiwes and Brandes met through an internet bulletin board or BBS for gay men interested in a cannibalism fetish.

“If you are between 18 and 25 years old you are my boy. Come to me and I eat your horny flesh” his ad said.

The case came to light when Meiwes posted more ads after Meiwes death for additional victims, and readers of the postings contacted police.

When police searched Meiwes’ home they discovered neatly wrapped body parts in plastic bags which were labeled “according to cuts”. Bones and other “non edibles” were found buried in the garden. Meiwes told police he already had consumed about 40 pounds of Brandes’s body.

He told police that the two men had enjoyed a final meal together. Brandes had agreed to be castrated and the two sautéed his penis and testicles. They washed down the meal with a German white wine.

The other German case of gay man who killed his partner in 2005, dismembered him, and then froze the body parts to eat later.

Last year in Mexico City, a bisexual man and his gay lover were arrested for the murder and cannibalization of his some-time girlfriend.

Anthony Morley, 36, slashed Damian Oldfield’s throat before stabbing him several times after they went to bed together in April.

Morley, wearing a white dressing gown and flip flops, then walked casually down the street to a restaurant and told the staff that he killed someone.

Employees alerted police.

The jury deliberated for just over two hours before returning a guilty verdict. Morley will be sentenced on Monday.