Individuals adjusting their daily activities to accommodate a recent virus outbreak. - Eugen Block's appeal for child custody fails.
Hamburg steakhouse entrepreneur Eugen Block lost his appeal against a Family Court decision regarding a custody dispute in his family. Block, aged 83, wanted to secure visitation rights for two of his kids who currently live with their dad in Denmark.
A court spokesperson confirmed this news on Thursday. The Family Court deemed themselves unable to handle the so-called visitation cases between the parents, as the children now have their primary residency in Denmark. Block took his case to the higher courts, but they declined his appeal. "It's still the fact that German courts can't handle custody cases since the international jurisdiction of German courts no longer applies," the spokesperson said.
On Wednesday, Christina Block (the mother), her ex-husband, Eugen Block (the father), and their respective lawyers, along with a representative from the youth welfare service, appeared at a hearing in front of the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court. The court dismissed Block's appeal in the evening, confirming that German courts had no jurisdiction over this custody matter.
For years, the parents have been fighting for custody over their two younger kids, roughly ten and thirteen-years-old. The children have been with their father in Denmark ever since August 2021 when they failed to return to their mom after a visit. The Hanseatic Higher Regional Court, which awarded Christina Block the right to determine residency in October 2021, declared German courts incompetent on February 19, 2024.
On New Year's Eve, the kids were smuggled into Germany during an operation involving stolen cars and fake identities. It was ruled that the mother must return them to Denmark.
The Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating Christina Block and her ex-husband for depriving their children of their freedom. They stand accused of organizing and executing the kidnapping operation, with the help of other suspects. The prosecutor's office has already executed several searches at both business and private premises. Most recently, about 100 police officers blocked Block's hotel at the Hamburg Dammtor station, the Grand Elysée.
Eugen Block compared the raid on his hotel to dealing with "serious criminals" and expressed grievances against the state, claiming to have given his entire life to Germany, only to be mistreated. During the opening of a new restaurant in the Hamburg city center, he questioned what role the state played in his predicament. "I'm Eugen Block, I've served Germany my entire life, what does the state give me in return?" he said last week.
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