Overview

• Hanning’s lawyer confirmed to dpa that he intends to appear as a witness, after a report said the court planned to call him in late October, which the court has not confirmed.
• Hanning told Bild he will testify and will not invoke his right to refuse to give evidence.
• Prosecutors in Hamburg are investigating Hanning and a retired LKA Hamburg officer over a suspected 2022 plan allegedly handled through a security firm and said to involve payments exceeding €100,000.
• Authorities searched 13 properties in Germany and Switzerland in mid-September as part of the wider probe, and Hanning is not a defendant in the current trial.
• The ongoing case concerns the New Year’s Eve 2023/24 transfer of two children to Germany by alleged Israeli operatives; defendant Christina Block denies ordering it, and the children were returned to their father by court order after a few days.