Kidnap suspect claimed assistance for the Block family

In a dramatic turn of events, the Israeli defendant, one of the three main defendants in the trial against Hamburg entrepreneur Christina Block, has provided detailed testimony about the "rescue operation" that has been at the centre of the case.

The defendant, who served part of his military service in the Israeli police and worked as an investigator for an electricity provider for many years after his service, confirmed the position of Christina Block that she had nothing to do with the operation. He emphasised that his statements were made freely without any notes, and it was the "pattern of a credible statement".

The defendant described the exact course of the abduction and the division of roles among the participants. He explained how he approached the father, Stephan Hensel, in New Year's Eve and knocked him down. The children were returned to their father in Denmark four days after the retrieval operation, pursuant to an order from the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court (OLG).

The presiding judge repeatedly interrupted the defendant's lawyer, Sascha Böttner, stating that he was not only providing a permissible explanation for the defendant's statement but also making a kind of evidentiary assessment.

The defendant did not question the statements that the children were in danger from their father. He admitted involvement in an operation in southern Denmark, but claimed it was about rescuing the children, not kidnapping. The Israeli defendant hoped that the children had not been threatened, as the last thing he wanted was for something to happen to the children.

Interestingly, the defendant felt like a hero, or "Superman," for doing something good. He even drew a sketch of the crime scene in front of a cafe at the Danish town of Grasten's harbor on his own initiative. The defendant also did not delete information about the crime scene in Denmark from his phone.

It is worth noting that a security company employee allegedly involved in the child abduction from Stephan Hensel's home in Denmark, in connection with Christina Block and a lawyer from the Block group, has not been named explicitly in the publicly available sources. However, it is documented that employees of a security firm working for the Block family attempted activities around the time of the abduction, and Stephan Hensel was also physically assaulted during the incident.

In February 2024, the OLG ruled that German courts were no longer competent, as the children had since established their permanent center of life in Denmark. The mother, Christina Block, was reportedly overwhelmed by feelings on the farm in Southern Germany where the children were initially taken, and did not know what had happened.

The 36-year-old defendant is an experienced martial artist, adding another layer of intrigue to the case. The trial continues, with the defendant's testimony providing a significant piece of the puzzle in the complex story of the child abduction.