LONDON (AP) Lawyers for the Duchess of Sussex asked a judge at a London court on Wednesday to keep the names of five of her friends out of the public domain as she wages a privacy-infringement battle against a British newspaper.

Meghans attorney said the female friends, who defended her in anonymous magazine interviews last year, are innocent parties who fear intrusion if their names come out. The target of her lawsuit , Associated Newspapers Ltd., argues that the principle of open justice the publics right to know means the friends should be identified.

The former Meghan Markle is suing the publisher of the Mail on Sunday newspaper and the MailOnline website at Britains High Court over five articles that published portions of a handwritten letter she wrote to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, after her marriage to Prince Harry in 2018.

Meghan, 38, is seeking damages from the publisher for alleged misuse of private information, copyright infringement and data protection breaches. Her lawyers say publishing the letter was a flagrant and unjustified intrusion into her private and family life. Associated Newspapers says it will strongly contest the claim.