HXZ v NMX

Deputy High Court Judge Aidan Eardley KC conducted the 3 April 2025 return date in private and maintained anonymity in a case where an anonymised UK businessman sought to restrain a self-represented Defendant from disclosing naked images, health information, and sexual details. Building on Ritchie J’s 13 March 2025 interim orders, the judge assessed contested factual narratives: the Defendant’s assertion of a valid Islamic marriage, allegations of STD transmission and “revenge porn,” and claims of orchestrated break-ins, thefts and vandalism. He found a strong likelihood that the Claimant enjoys a reasonable expectation of privacy and that Article 8 outweighs the Defendant’s Article 10 where sensitive material and apparent blackmail are involved. The court indicated the harassment claim is likely to succeed and rejected s1(3) defences. It granted mandatory delivery-up and deletion of the Claimant’s naked images, ordered deletion of four social media posts but not one primarily about another person, restricted access to court records via on-notice applications, and extended time for Particulars of Claim to 5 May 2025.