Irish politicians attending a high-profile trial in Stuttgart have accused the German court process involving the so-called “Ulm5” of being staged to make an example of activists.
People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said the ongoing proceedings are “a show trial” after joining a cross-party delegation of seven Irish politicians at the latest hearing.
The case centres on five defendants, including 32-year-old Dublin man Daniel Tatlow‑Devally, who were arrested by German police last September following an action at the German office of Elbit Systems, an Israeli-headquartered firm that supplies weapons systems to the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). Prosecutors allege equipment was damaged and walls were spray-painted.
The five activists, from Ireland, Germany, Spain and the UK, are charged under Section 129 of the German criminal code with trespassing, destruction of property worth approximately €1m at the Ulm office, and membership of an illegal organisation.
Since the trial began in April, the defendants have been brought into court in handcuffs and placed behind a glass screen, physically separated from their defence lawyers.
“This is a show trial. It is a political trial where they [the defendants] are not actually receiving justice,” Mr Boyd Barrett said at a press conference outside the courthouse in Stuttgart.
“There are glass partitions where the defendants are being brought in, in handcuffs; they can’t communicate with their defence [lawyers]”.
He said the approach contrasts sharply with another case heard in the same building involving gun crime, where defendants are allowed to sit with their legal teams.
Under Section 129, the five are treated as a threat to society and cannot be granted bail.
Read more: Father raises concerns over Irish activist’s trial in Germany
Among those attending the hearing were People Before Profit–Solidarity TDs Richard Boyd Barrett and Ruth Coppinger, Sinn Féin TD Mairéad Farrell and Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan, Labour TD Duncan Smith, Fine Gael TD Barry Ward, and Social Democrats Senator Patricia Stephenson.
The cross-party group is urging the Government to send official observers to the hearings.
Mr Ward and Ms Coppinger did not attend the press conference.
Mr Boyd-Barrett described it as “shocking” that the defendants are “being prosecuted as dangerous criminals”.
“It is outrageous that they are being kept in prison for ten months rather than being let out on bail while they are on trial,” he said.
“We intend to go back to Ireland and demand once again that our Government speaks up on behalf of the Ulm5, that they send observers to witness this, and try to put pressure on the German legal system and the German political system to ensure a fair trial, and indeed to let them out on bail while this trial is proceeding,” he added.
He also called for the charges to be dropped, arguing the five were “acting against war crimes and against genocide”.
Speaking as Gaeilge, Mairéad Farrell TD said the delegation travelled to Stuttgart because they feared the case raised serious concerns, including the treatment of Irish citizen Daniel Tatlow‑Devally.
“The reason we came here today is that we believed there were difficulties with this court case and we were worried about the conditions under which Irish citizen Daniel Tatlow‑Devally is being held,” she said.
Ms Farrell said the delegation met Mr Tatlow‑Devally in prison yesterday and that “the conditions we saw and those he spoke about were awful”.
Mr Tatlow‑Devally is allowed visitors for one hour per month and spends 23 hours a day inside his cell.
“It was really important for us to be there and meet him, to give him confidence that we are here, that we are listening, that we’re there as witnesses at the court case,” Ms Farrell said.
“Our demand is that the Irish Government sends observers to this court case in which there is an Irish citizen.”
At hearings in June, defence lawyers argued that presenting their clients in court under these conditions breaches European human rights law, saying it undermines the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
Mr Boyd Barrett and Ms Farrell echoed that argument at today’s press conference, saying the courtroom arrangements erode the presumption of innocence.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told RTÉ News it is aware of the case and is providing consular assistance.
“As with all consular cases the Department does not comment on the details of individual cases,” the spokesperson said.
None of the five defendants has any previous criminal convictions.
If convicted, they could face up to five years in prison.
The trial continues in Stuttgart.
