In September 2025, five activists of Irish, British, Hispano-Argentine and German origin accessed the facilities of the Israeli arms company Elbit Systems in Ulm. They caused one million euros’ worth of damage to computer equipment, painted slogans and filmed the action to spread it on social media, and remained on the premises until the police arrived. Their action, claimed as an act of civil disobedience to interrupt the supply of arms to Israel, gave rise to the judicial process known as the ‘Ulm 5’ trial.
The trial began on 27 April 2026 in the high-security prison complex of Stammheim, in Stuttgart. The German public prosecutor’s office charges the five with aggravated criminal damage, trespassing and, centrally, with membership in a criminal organisation. This classification, which prevented bail from being granted, has kept them in pre-trial detention for months.
The charge of membership in a criminal organisation against the ‘Ulm 5’ falls apart in the face of the most elementary evidence: the video presented by the prosecution itself in the trial is far from showing a dangerous organised cell. The alleged “criminal organisation” seems to be anything but an organised gang, thus turning German justice into an instrument of political repression.
The trial, which is being held in the historic Stammheim high-security complex, has accumulated irregularities that discredit any claim to a fair trial. The defence lawyers unsuccessfully filed multiple motions for their clients to be allowed to sit beside them, for the public to be allowed to take notes with pens, or for the accused to be released on bail; all were denied by Judge Kathrin Lauchstädt, citing reasons that even the prosecutor acknowledged as “reasons, but not real ones”. The situation reached its most critical point when the judge expelled all members of the public from the hearing.
At the centre of the prosecution’s strategy is the application of Article 129 of the German Criminal Code, which equates political protest with organised crime and has kept the five activists in pre-trial detention in conditions of extreme isolation for more than a year. All of this shows that what is happening is a political trial, when what should be happening is, in any case, that the German government should be the one in the dock as an active accomplice in the Palestinian genocide and as a bully that tears up the rights and freedoms of citizens.
In a current context of criminalisation and persecution of dissent in the West, the trial of the ‘Ulm 5’ is becoming a “show trial” that transcends the borders of the German state and has already reached the European Parliament. While the prosecution insists on classifying an act of civil disobedience as criminal, the defence invokes the right of necessity to justify the interruption of arms supplies to a country accused of genocide. The outcome, scheduled for January 2027, will determine whether Europe reinforces its choice for the path of criminalising dissent or decides to defend the exercise of political-civil rights.
Sources
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El Salto Diario (2026). Delincuentes desorganizados: días 6 y 7 del juicio contra los Ulm5. https://www.elsaltodiario.com/alkimia/delincuentes-desorganizados-dias-6-7-del-juicio-ulm5
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RTE.ie (2026). Politicians attend ‘show trial’ of Irish activist in Germany. https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2026/0722/1584602-ulm5-trial-stuttgart/
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The Journal (2026). ‘Show trial’: Irish politicians criticise Daniel Tatlow-Devally court hearing in Germany. https://www.thejournal.ie/daniel-tatlow-devally-irish-politicians-court-trial-7110145-Jul2026/
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The Journal (2026). Irish TDs to visit Dubliner in German prison charged with damaging Israeli-owned arms factory. https://www.thejournal.ie/daniel-tatlow-devally-ulm-5-trial-irish-politicians-7108780-Jul2026/
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Anadolu Ajansı (2026). German trial of Pro-Palestinian activists opens but disrupted by courtroom security arrangements. https://f.aa.com.tr/en/world/german-trial-of-pro-palestinian-activists-opens-but-disrupted-by-courtroom-security-arrangements/3919765“
