The Hamburg District Court has ordered that the ongoing trial of business heiress Christina Block continue behind closed doors, citing concerns that new evidence may touch on sensitive German and Israeli security interests.
Block, the daughter of restaurateur Eugen Block, founder of the Block House steakhouse chain, is accused of kidnapping her two children from Denmark to Germany amid a protracted custody battle with her ex-husband, Stephan Hensel.
According to German media reports, including Der Spiegel and Bild, testimony from a former intelligence operative has introduced claims that a person with security ties to Israel assisted in organizing the abduction’s logistics. Judges reportedly warned that revealing further details could harm Germany’s security interests, prompting the decision to exclude the public and media from further sessions.
The court noted that the case now extends beyond a private family dispute and could affect diplomatic relations between Germany and Israel. Officials also discussed transferring elements of the file to national security authorities, though proceedings remain within the jurisdiction of the Hamburg court.
As previously reported, prosecutors allege that August Hanning, former head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service (BND), contacted Yaakov Peri, a former director of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency and now head of the CGI Group, to organize a team to carry out the operation. The team allegedly assaulted Hensel, abducted the children, and brought them to Germany, where they were briefly reunited with their mother before a Danish court ordered their return to their father.
Hensel has claimed that Hanning also enlisted Danny Yatom, a former Mossad chief, though Yatom has publicly denied any connection to the case, calling the reports “a waste of time.”
Peri’s company has likewise rejected the allegations, saying it has no involvement with Block or the kidnapping, and plans to file a defamation lawsuit in Germany against retired intelligence operative Werner Mauss and the NTV news outlet for publishing the claims.
The Hamburg court has not ruled on whether the testimony concerning Israeli or German intelligence connections will be admitted as evidence. Details of the closed-door proceedings remain under strict confidentiality orders.