Overview

• Tal S., 36, acknowledged in testimony that he led the on‑the‑ground team on New Year’s Eve 2023/24, overpowered the father in Denmark and helped move the two children toward the German border.
• He told the court he believed he was taking part in a rescue, said he was recruited by the head of an Israeli security firm and described a promised €10,000 payment that he says he did not take.
• He apologized to the father and the children, rejected allegations of death threats during the transfer and urged the parents to end their conflict; the father’s lawyer said the apology was accepted.
• Arrested in Cyprus in September 2024 and held in Hamburg since November, he is one of several defendants that include Christina Block, a company lawyer and TV presenter Gerhard Delling.
• Block denies commissioning the operation as judges continue detailed questioning, with the court still probing who planned the action that briefly brought the children to Germany before their court‑ordered return to Denmark.