This is material that was created during research for the podcast “Time Crime: House of Block”. The conversations were held about two weeks after Christina Block's two youngest children were kidnapped on New Year's Eve 2023/24. They were therefore taken in a so-called safe house in Denmark. Those who spoke included Block's ex-husband Stephan Hensel, his new wife Astrid Have, the then 13-year-old younger daughter and Block and Hensel's eldest daughter. The court sees the complete recordings as possible evidence. Circumstances may have been raised in the discussions that have not yet been discussed in the main hearing.
“Research material is not a warehouse of evidence”
The “Zeit” has filed an appeal against the measure. According to the regional court, a complaint was received from both a lawyer for the publisher and a representative of the journalist. A spokeswoman for the publisher explained that they had verbally objected to the searches and sent the justified complaints to the court on Tuesday night.
The German Journalists' Union in Ver.di demanded the immediate return of the material. “Research material is not a store of evidence for the judiciary,” said its co-chair Lars Hansen. The recordings must be returned unopened. The editorial team was only able to avert the search by publishing the material. Such coercion would undermine editorial secrecy and source protection.
The chairman of the Network Research Association, Daniel Drepper, also warned of fundamental consequences: "If people can no longer trust that their statements and documents are safe with us, they will lose their trust. And we will lose the basis of our work." The chairman of the German Association of Journalists, Mika Beuster, explained that journalists' conversation partners must be able to rely on the fact that confidential content will not be used for other purposes against the will of an editorial team.
Criticism also comes from the co-plaintiff
Unusually, the seizure was also criticized by the co-plaintiff. Philip von der Meden, the lawyer for Block's ex-husband, described the measure as a disproportionate interference with press freedom. “It is unacceptable that search warrants are issued against editorial offices, against journalists in such a situation,” he said during a break in the trial. In his opinion, the recordings do not contain any significantly new information. “There is nothing in it that is in any way strange, but it simply confirms the statements that have already been introduced into the proceedings so far,” said von der Meden.
The children's lawyer, Tanja Jeney, reported on the personal stress on her client. The younger daughter was “very shocked”. She told the journalist things in confidence and now feels bad. The publication of the statements had already caused arguments in the process at the end of September. Christina Block's defense attorney Ingo Bott said the podcast showed that Block's ex-husband brought the children into contact with the press at an early stage. For his client, it was also the first time in two and a half years that she had heard her daughter's voice.
Witness does not appear in court
In connection with the podcast, Hensel should testify again as a witness. However, he invoked his right to refuse to testify. The court then summoned his new wife Astrid Have again. She didn't show up on Tuesday. The chamber cannot impose a fine because Have lives abroad, explained the presiding judge Isabel Hildebrandt. The court now wants to try to question her in Denmark.
Christina Block is accused of hiring an Israeli security company to kidnap her two youngest children from their father's home in southern Denmark after a bitter custody dispute. The children were brought to Germany on New Year's Eve 2023/24. Four days later, Block released it again by court order. The 53-year-old denies the allegations made against her. In addition to her, six other defendants are on trial.
