Overview

• Tal S., 36, admitted leading the on-the-ground team on Dec. 31, 2023, and told the court he acted to help the children rather than for money.
• He described tackling father Stephan Hensel, seeing the children placed into cars, and driving to a forest near the German–Danish border.
• He apologized to Hensel and the children; the father's lawyer said the apology was accepted, and the defendant denied issuing any death threats.
• Prosecutors allege Christina Block commissioned a cross-border abduction, which she denies; the co-defendant did not say who gave the order.
• The Israeli remains in pretrial detention after a 2024 arrest in Cyprus, the court will continue questioning him Friday, and other defendants, including a lawyer and Block’s partner Gerhard Delling, also contest the charges.