Overview

• The Hamburg Regional Court on July 17 revoked the Nebenkläger status of 14-year-old Klara Hensel, following last week’s decision to bar her 11-year-old brother, effectively removing both children from victim representation.
• Presiding Judge Isabel Hildebrandt suspended the trial after defense attorneys challenged whether the children’s lawyers were independent, canceling sessions set for July 18 and 22 and setting the next date for July 25.
• Defense teams cite potential conflicts of interest because the children’s father, Stephan Hensel, faces his own legal proceedings and selected their counsel, prompting the court to review parallel case files.
• The blockbuster trial, which began July 11, involves seven defendants including heiress Christina Block and her partner Gerhard Delling; it spans 37 hearing days with about 140 witnesses.
• Block is charged with ordering the January 2024 abduction of her two children from their father in Denmark, facing counts of severe child abduction, dangerous bodily harm, and false imprisonment that carry up to ten years in prison.