The key facts

  • Christina Block and six co-defendants deny guilt; Israeli Yonatan G. admitted involvement but called the operation a 'rescue'
  • The abduction of the children (aged 10 and 13) took place on New Year's Eve 2023–2024 at their father's home in Denmark
  • Former intelligence chief August Hanning arrested for treason — evidence found during a search in the Block case

Trial in Hamburg

In Hamburg, in a high-security courtroom, the trial of Christina Block, the 53-year-old heiress of the Block House restaurant chain, and six other defendants has been ongoing since July of last year. According to the prosecution, she, together with family lawyer Andreas Kostard, organized the violent abduction of her two children, who were with her ex-husband Stefan Hensel in Denmark. The operation, the prosecution claims, was carried out by 36-year-old Israeli citizen Yonatan G. and five other people. Block, Kostard and Yonatan G. are charged with abduction of minors, grievous bodily harm and unlawful deprivation of liberty. Block's partner, former sports TV commentator Gerhard Delling, and three others are charged with aiding and abetting. All deny guilt, except Yonatan G., who admitted involvement but said he considered it a rescue operation.

Circumstances of the abduction

According to the indictment, the abduction took place on New Year's Eve 2023–2024, when the children were watching fireworks with their father. Several men attacked Hensel, beat him and drove away with the boy and girl, aged 10 and 13, in a car. At the border with Germany, the group, according to investigators, switched to another vehicle, taped the children's mouths shut and tied the girl's hands. The children were then taken to Baden-Württemberg in a camper van and held there until their mother picked them up and took them to her home in Hamburg on January 2, 2024.

Background of the dispute

After the separation, all four children lived with their mother in Hamburg. Hensel remarried and moved to Denmark, where the children regularly travelled. In 2021, the two younger children were not returned to Hamburg as agreed. The Hamburg court granted custody to Christina and demanded the children's return, but in February 2023 the Danish court ruled that although the children had been unlawfully taken, they could not be returned. In May 2023, Hensel was charged with child abduction — the case has still not been heard. He accused Christina of cruelty towards the children, which she denies; she told the court that Hensel wanted to take revenge on her.

Positions of the parties

Christina Block denies knowing about the abduction plans, calling what happened a 'catastrophe'. The defence argues that the Israeli group acted on its own initiative. The head of the Israeli group, David Barkai, who is not in the dock but is facing a future trial, told the court that Block and Kostard knew about the planned 'repatriation' operation. A witness described Barkai as a former Mossad agent; Barkai himself said he had not shared all the details because he 'did not trust them'.

Arrest of the former intelligence chief

The case is linked to an alleged earlier attempt to abduct the children from Denmark back in 2022. The prosecution claimed that former head of Germany's foreign intelligence August Hanning was responsible for organizing the security detail that accompanied Block to Denmark; his lawyer denies this. Hanning has not been charged in the Block case, but during a search of his home investigators found evidence that he had acquired about 2,000 documents from his former chief of staff and passed state secrets to foreign powers. Which power exactly is not disclosed, which has given rise to widespread speculation. The 80-year-old Hanning was arrested this month on charges of treasonous espionage; his lawyer calls the prosecution 'unfair' and the charges 'unfounded'. The arrest has shaken the intelligence community.

Course of the trial

The trial has already lasted 15 months and has been interrupted repeatedly. It is currently suspended for two weeks due to the failure of a witness — Stefan Hensel's new wife — to appear.

A woman with short blonde hair and a beige sweater and white T-shirt looks to the rightImage source, POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Image caption,

Christina Block, 53, denies knowing about the planned abduction of her children

Co-plaintiff Stephan Hensel, former husband of defendant Christina Block and father of their children, looks at the camera - with combed back grey hair, a white collared shirt and blue jacketImage source, POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Image caption,

After Stephan Hensel and Christina Block separated, the children lived with their mother

File pic of a man called August Hanning from 2008, a man with grey hair and a dark suit and tie, holding papers as he sits at a deskImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Former foreign intelligence chief August Hanning was arrested after police investigating the Christina Block case searched his home

A screen grab from Danish Defense shows a gas leak causes bubbles on the surface of the water at Sea in Sweden on September 30, 2022About a dozen German police officers in black overalls are seen combing a field during a search. An active power station is seen in the background.