The applicant company, Axel Springer AG, is a publisher registered in Germany. In 2004, the company published article about X, famous actor, which has been recently arrested for possession and use of drugs. The article was supplemented with several photos of X. The X brought injunction proceedings against Axel Springer AG and has won the case, and as a consequence, won issuance of order prohibiting to publish the article. After a series of domestic court hearings, the applicant company, Axel Springer AG, brought the case before the European Court of Human Rights, relying on the right to freedom of expression.
