Christina Block, heir to a restaurant chain, is accused of commissioning an Israeli security firm to carry out the abduction of her children from Denmark. The abduction was allegedly ordered following a bitter custody battle with her former husband, Stephan Hensel.
Prosecutors allege that she and family lawyer Andreas Costard orchestrated the abduction of her two children, who were staying with their father at his home in Denmark. The operation was carried out by 36-year-old Israeli national Jonathan G and five others. The abduction took place during the New Year celebrations of 2023/24, while the two children and their father were watching the fireworks, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors allege that several men ambushed and beat Stephan Hensen, then dragged the boy and girl, aged 10 and 13, into a car. According to the indictment, they changed vehicles at the border with Germany, taped the children's mouths, and bound the girl's hands. The group then travelled to Baden-Württemberg in a camper, where the children were held against their will until their mother collected them on 2 January 2024 and took them to her home in Hamburg.
Christina Block, Andreas Costard and Jonathan G are charged with kidnapping, serious bodily harm and unlawful detention. Block's partner, former television sports presenter Gerhard Delling, and three others are charged with assisting and inciting. All except Jonathan G deny the charges, while Jonathan G has admitted his involvement, telling the court that he believed he was taking part in a rescue operation.
Christina Block and six others appeared in court in a high-security courtroom in Hamburg in July last year. Christina denied having any knowledge of plans to abduct the children from Denmark, and her defence argued that the Israeli security team acted on their own initiative. She told the court that it was a 'catastrophe' and that she had never wished for anything like that.
The head of the security team, David Barkay, is not standing trial, but faces future legal proceedings. Barkay told the court that Christina Block and Costard were aware of the planned repatriation, but added that he had not shared all the details because 'he did not trust them'. Another witness described him as a former Mossad agent.
There are links to at least two former intelligence agents, from Germany and Israel. The link to the former German intelligence chief August Hanning relates to allegations of an earlier attempted abduction of the children and their return from Denmark in 2022. Prosecutors said that Hanning was responsible for organising security personnel sent to Denmark with Christina Block, but his lawyer denied the allegations. Hanning was not charged in the current trial of Block.
Investigators found evidence leading to the arrest of German intelligence chief August Hanning this month for treason and espionage. Hanning's arrest shocked the intelligence community, but his case is unrelated to the Hamburg trial. Hanning denied the allegations of involvement in the earlier abduction attempt. During a search of his home, investigators found evidence suggesting that he had purchased around 2,000 documents from his former head of staff, then passed state secrets to foreign powers. The foreign power and the person to whom the secrets were handed over were not specified. Hanning, now 80, is charged with treasonous espionage, and his lawyer says he is 'persecuted' and that the charges are 'unfounded'.
The trial follows years of legal battles between Christina Block and her former husband over the rights to the children. Immediately after their separation, the four children lived with their mother in Hamburg. Hensen, who had remarried, later moved to Denmark, where he was regularly visited. In 2021, the two youngest children went to visit their father in Denmark, but were not returned to Hamburg as agreed. The court in Hamburg ruled that Christina had custody and that the children should be returned, but in February 2023, the Danish court ruled that, although the children had been brought to Denmark illegally, they could not be returned. In May 2023, Hensen was charged with child abduction in a case that is still ongoing.
Hensen accused Christina of domestic violence, which she denied, and Christina told the court that Hensen was seeking revenge. The success of Block's restaurant over the past half-century has made her father, Eugene, a multimillionaire. The restaurants specialise in steak and roast potatoes and are present in many German cities.
The trial against Christine Block is currently on a two-week break. The latest delay is due to the fact that the witness, the new wife of Stephan Hensen, did not appear in court.
