Overview
- Block told the Hamburg court she will file a complaint accusing ex-husband Stephan Hensel and his lawyer Philip von der Meden of attempted coercion over media comments she says sought to push her toward a confession, a claim the judge and prosecutor said did not belong in the public hearing.
- The court projected Grand Elysée hotel surveillance from December 31, 2023, showing alleged participants in the plot, which a co-accused identified on screen, and Block said she recognized a man who led her to a room and handed her a prepaid phone on January 1, 2024.
- Two senior Block-Gruppe managers were summoned to testify, while multiple employees lawfully declined to answer questions to avoid self-incrimination, leaving only two of five planned staff witnesses appearing.
- A Danish appellate ruling on November 3 granted Hensel sole custody and barred Block from contact with the two younger children, a decision noted in court as the defense contests the broader narrative of the case.
- The chamber previously admitted retroactively seized IT evidence over defense objections and bias motions, and company founder Eugen Block said he will not testify, citing alleged bias and a supervisory complaint against the presiding judge.