4 ANNEN v. GERMANY - JUDGMENT The Court of Appeal confirmed the Regional Court’s assessment that the text in the leaflet implied that the plaintiffs performed unlawful actions. This was not called into question by the further explanations, as the average reader could not be expected to draw the distinction between the act of abortion which was justified under Article 218a § 2 of the Criminal Code and the act of abortion which was merely exempt from prosecution under Article 218a § 1 of the Criminal Code (see paragraph 26 below). Seen from a layman’s point of view, the text of the leaflet created the impression that the act of abortion, as permitted by the German legislator, amounted to unlawful homicide, or even to murder. The statement was at the very least ambiguous and had not to be tolerated by the plaintiffs. 18. Even if one were to assume that the leaflet did not contain a wrong statement of facts, the applicant’s freedom of expression had to cede. The Court of Appeal reiterated that freedom of expression conveyed the right to express an opinion even in an offending, shocking or disturbing way. If the expression of opinion was part of a debate on matters of public interest, there was an assumption militating in favour of freedom of expression. However, in the instant case the applicant had created a massive “pillory effect” by singling out the plaintiffs, who had not given the applicant any reason to do so. The performance of abortions was criticised with harsh and rigid words. This was further aggravated by the Holocaust reference. The Court of Appeal further noted that the applicant was not under any specific pressure to express his general criticism of the facilitation of abortions with such a massive violation of the plaintiffs’ personality rights. 19. The Court of Appeal further considered that it had not been necessary for the plaintiffs to submit the exact content of the website, as this website was generally accessible and its content was thus known. It then went on to state: “The content of the webpage is likewise characterised by the fact that the defendant labels individuals, including the plaintiffs, “abortion doctors” and puts their actions on a level with the national-socialist Holocaust and with mass murder. Therefore, the plaintiffs’ claim to compel the defendant to refrain from performing the impugned action must be granted. In that connection, the court refers to its above reasoning. Furthermore, the defendant himself admitted that he had, on the webpage, labelled the plaintiffs “abortion doctors” who are directly or indirectly involved in the performance of abortions.” 20. The Court of Appeal did not grant leave to appeal on points of law. 21. On 12 February 2008 the Federal Court of Justice refused the applicant’s request for legal aid, on the ground that the applicant’s intended appeal on points of law lacked sufficient prospect of success.