Witness in Block trial: Witness contradicts businesswoman on key points
An Israeli witness has seriously implicated Christina Block in Hamburg kidnapping proceedings. Block is said to have known the date of the operation.
Witness names Block codename "Ladybug" – and contradicts the accused
An alleged accomplice from Israel has implicated businesswoman Christina Block on several key points before Hamburg Regional Court. According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the 51-year-old witness said that Block had known the exact date of the planned child recovery operation on New Year's Eve 2023/24 – even if she had not been informed of all details of the plan.
Block stated at the start of proceedings that the Israeli security firm had originally only been responsible for cybersecurity at her Hotel Grand Elysée. She had assumed the Israelis had left before New Year's Eve; the firm had acted on its own initiative.
Codename "Ladybug" for the client
The witness also described how her team had assigned internal codenames. Christina Block had been referred to internally as "Ladybug" or "Lady C". Such nicknames were standard in her line of work during operations, the Israeli woman explained. Clients had also received new mobile phones for internal communications.
The witness herself appeared in Hamburg under the fictional name "Olga" and stayed at the Grand Elysée under the alias "Doris White". According to the prosecution, she was the "right hand" of the firm's chief, who is said to have worked for the secret service for many years.
Contradiction to Block's account of the New Year's Eve call
Block testified in court that "Olga" had called her on 1 January 2024 and advised her to drive to Stuttgart without informing anyone. She said she did not know what had happened. The witness rejected this: she could not remember saying anything of the sort.
The men in the recovery operation were described as wearing black clothing and masks. "They did not want to be recognised in Denmark," the witness said. And further: "We knew it was not legal in Denmark." Violence against father Stephan Hensel had not been planned; one of the men had nevertheless injured him.
Background of the custody dispute
Christina Block, daughter of Block House founder Eugen Block, is accused of instructing the Israeli security firm to kidnap her two youngest children – a then ten-year-old son and a then 13-year-old daughter – from Denmark to Germany. This was preceded by an escalated custody dispute with her ex-husband Hensel, who is said not to have returned the children after a weekend visit in summer 2021. The father is an intervener in the proceedings.
The witness reported that she had been told the father had forced the children to portray their mother as a "monster". Hensel's lawyer Philip von der Meden asked whether she had ever questioned the reliability of this information. The witness answered that she had trusted the accounts.
The family lawyer who is also accused had repeatedly assured them that legally everything was in order once the children were back in Germany – the mother had sole custody rights at that time. "We simply believed him," the witness said.
Six other defendants, including former sports presenter Delling
Besides Block, six other persons are on trial. One of them is Block's partner, former sports presenter Gerhard Delling. He is accused of aiding and abetting and denies the allegations. Block herself also maintains her innocence.
The questioning of the witness, who wiped away tears several times during her testimony and had been granted safe conduct for her statement, will continue on Thursday. It will then be the 52nd of more than 100 scheduled trial days. The court considers it possible that the evidence could be concluded as early as August.
Source: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung