LONDON: Politicians in Ireland have insisted that the government send observers to Germany ahead of the trial of an Irish citizen detained over an incident at an Israeli-owned arms factory.
Daniel Tatlow-Devally is one of five pro-Palestine activists who entered the facility owned by Elbit Systems in the city of Ulm last September, where they are alleged to have caused damage worth around $1.13 million.
A delegation of Irish politicians met him in prison to check on his well-being. The group included MPs Richard Boyd Barrett and Ruth Coppinger of the People Before Profit-Solidarity party, Barry Ward of Fine Gael and Duncan Smith of Labour, as well as Social Democrat Sen. Patricia Stephenson and Lynn Boylan MEP from Sinn Fein.
Mairead Farrell, also a member of Sinn Fein, said: “I was quite shocked by the treatment that he is receiving. He is 23 hours a day in his cell.”
She added: “His cell, from what I understand, is 5x2 meters. He doesn’t have much in his cell, so he’s stuck there for 23 hours a day. He only has an hour of visitation per month, which is obviously incredibly short.
“It just seems that there’s very harsh conditions that seem unwarranted for the scale of the fact that these people haven’t harmed people.”
Farrell said she and her colleagues attended a hearing on Wednesday but had been forbidden from discussing the trial with Tatlow-Devally, adding that the manner of proceedings in Germany were unusual to them.
The defendants “are basically in a glass cage or behind a glass wall, unable to communicate with their lawyers in … a kind of free manner,” she said.
“One of the accused said that they felt that they couldn’t really participate fully in the trial … because of these barriers that have been put in place.”
Lawyers for the defendants — who are Irish, British, German and Spanish citizens — have previously complained about their clients being placed behind glass screens.
The delegates urged Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin to raise the condition of the detainees with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is due to visit Dublin on Tuesday, including Tatlow-Devally’s “access in terms of legal representation as part of the trial.”
Farrell also insisted that the Irish government send official observers for the duration of the trial.
“That was something that couldn’t have been clearer coming out of that trial yesterday: that there is a need for observers,” she said, adding that the delegates intended to return to Germany before the trial’s conclusion. “This isn’t the end for us. We will be keeping an eye on this trial.”
The group of activists, known as the Ulm five, claimed responsibility for the incident in video messages posted online, in which they said they aimed to draw attention to Germany’s support for Israel.
In May, Tatlow-Devally told a court that he was motivated by “urgent humanitarian concerns” and sought to “make a fuss … in the hope to at least interrupt” the delivery of arms from the Elbit Systems facility in Ulm to Israel.
They have been charged with trespassing, destruction of property and membership of Palestine Action, which is deemed a criminal organization in Germany.
They have been denied bail after a court in Stuttgart warned of “a risk of flight, which would not be sufficiently mitigated even by the posting of bail,” and face up to five years in prison if convicted.
In June, four members of Palestine Action were jailed in the UK for their part in an incident at a facility owned by Elbit Systems.
