DR. SARAFI lawyers obtain preliminary injunction against Enissa Amani
From our press archive. This communication gives the status of the original publication of 12 November 2024 again. Subsequent developments in the process are not automatically taken into account.
Hamburg, November 12, 2024 — Hamburg Regional Court issues preliminary injunction against comedian Enissa Amani. DR. SARAFI lawyers successfully protect journalists from defamatory statements following ARD appearances.
The trigger: tough but fair
The trigger for the proceedings was the controversial appearance of comedian Enissa Amani on the ARD program “Hard but Fair” on August 12, 2024, which in this episode addressed the topic “Israel at War: Permitting Criticism?” dedicated. The talk show hosted by Louis Klamroth provides a platform for political debates, in which experts and prominent guests share their opinions and experiences. During the program, Ms. Amani spoke loudly and sharply attacked both CDU politician Julia Klöckner and editor-in-chief of the Jewish General, Philipp Peyman Engel.
Defamatory Instagram posts
In response to factual criticism from our client, a well-known journalist, Ms. Amani published defamatory posts against him on Instagram. The statements were unobjective and significantly violated our client's general personal rights. Due to Ms. Amani's wide reach, her statements spread quickly and her fans also shared further defamatory content, which she took up again. A warning on August 30, 2024 remained unanswered by Ms. Amani.
Attempted evasion through pseudonymization
Ms. Amani assumed that by choosing her own name instead of our client's actual name, she would have found a way to make statements about him that violate personal rights without being able to be prosecuted. She therefore provided her contribution with the following comment:
“This post contains no names and does not refer to anyone in particular.”
Decision of the Hamburg Regional Court
By order of November 4, 2024, the Hamburg Regional Court found that our client was entitled to an injunctive relief under Sections 1004 Paragraph 1 S. 2 analogously, 823 Paragraph 1 BGB in conjunction with Art. 2 Paragraph 1, 1 Paragraph 1 GG. While her lawyer continued to try to convince the court that Ms. Amani had not identified our client, the Hamburg Regional Court agreed with our legal opinion and found that our client was identifiable.
According to the Hamburg Regional Court, the statements in question also violate the general personal rights of our client, as they are defamatory and untrue. An allegation that put our client in a pedocriminal corner and thus significantly violated his personal rights was particularly serious. Ms. Amani was therefore prohibited from disseminating such statements by the Hamburg Regional Court.
conclusion
This decision underlines the importance of effective legal protection against defamatory statements in the digital space. In our opinion, it is hardly possible to prevent hate speech without legal assistance, as perpetrators usually show no insight. On the other hand, not everything that is undesirable for the person concerned can also be classified as hate speech. In the law on defamation and freedom of expression, a balance between freedom of expression and the protection of personal rights is crucial. Effective legal protection therefore requires careful analysis of each individual case to ensure that justified criticism is not misunderstood as hate speech and that defamatory statements can be consistently prevented at the same time.
The case also shows that pseudonymization is not an effective means of concealing statements that violate personal rights. If the data subject is identifiable despite the use of a different name, the legal protection mechanisms apply in full.