World

Ulm 5: Irish MPs at Stuttgart trial as Dublin urged to raise case before Merz's visit

Herz — World Desk · 24 July 2026 at 06:02 · 30s summary · 4 min read

The essentials

Five pro-Palestinian activists based in Berlin — known as the 'Ulm 5' — have been on trial in Stuttgart since April 2026 for attacking an Elbit Systems facility in Ulm in September 2025. A cross-party delegation of seven Irish politicians attended a hearing on July 23, 2026, according to The Guardian. German authorities refused to allow the delegation to discuss the case with Irish detainee Daniel Tatlow-Devally. Sinn Féin TD Mairéad Farrell has called on Prime Minister Micheál Martin to raise the issue during German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's visit to Dublin on July 28.

Seven Irish MPs from multiple parties attended the Ulm 5 trial hearing in Stuttgart on July 23, 2026.
The five accused face charges including membership in a criminal organization, with sentences up to five years.
Irish detainee Daniel Tatlow-Devally is held 23 hours daily in a 5×2 metre cell with one hour visiting time per month.
German authorities blocked the Irish delegation from discussing the case with Tatlow-Devally in prison.
Mairéad Farrell calls for PM Martin to raise the Ulm 5 case during Merz's July 28 visit to Dublin.

Illustration image — David Henry Friston, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

What we know

A cross-party delegation of seven Irish MPs, including Sinn Féin TD Mairéad Farrell, attended a hearing in the Ulm 5 trial at Stuttgart's Higher Regional Court on Wednesday, July 23, 2026, according to The Guardian.

The five accused are activists based in Berlin with British, Irish, German, and Spanish nationalities. In September 2025, they attacked an Elbit Systems facility in Ulm, Germany, causing approximately €1 million (£850,000) in damage. Elbit Systems is an Israeli defence and security technologies company founded in 1966, with headquarters in Haifa.

German authorities refused to allow the Irish delegation to discuss the case with Daniel Tatlow-Devally during a prison visit.

The charges

The five activists face three charges: trespass, property destruction, and membership in a criminal organization — Palestine Action Germany, presented by prosecutors as the German branch of the pro-Palestinian Palestine Action movement.

The third charge is based on § 129 of the German Penal Code (Strafgesetzbuch), which criminalizes membership in a criminal organization and allows collective prosecution against all members of a group, regardless of individual offences. The defendants face sentences of up to five years imprisonment.

During proceedings, the defendants appear behind a glass barrier. Their legal representatives contend this arrangement restricts communication with counsel and undermines their right to an effective defence.

Detention conditions

Before trial opened in April 2026, Stuttgart's Higher Regional Court ordered all defendants held in pre-trial detention, citing a flight risk not mitigated by bail.

Daniel Tatlow-Devally, the Irish defendant, is held for 23 hours daily in a cell measuring 5×2 metres. He is permitted only one hour of visits per month.

Diplomatic dimension

Mairéad Farrell has called on Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin to raise the Ulm 5 case during German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's visit to Dublin on July 28, 2026.

The meeting, focused on Ireland's rotating presidency of the EU Council — which Ireland has held since July 1, 2026, for six months — is viewed by Irish lawmakers as a diplomatic opportunity to address the case with Berlin.

Context

Germany is the second-largest arms supplier to Israel after the United States. The presence of Elbit Systems on German soil and the prosecution of activists targeting the company occur against a politically sensitive backdrop.

In May 2026, Tatlow-Devally told the court that the group was driven by 'urgent humanitarian concerns' and sought to 'make noise to try to disrupt' weapons deliveries by Elbit to Israel.

In June 2026, a parallel legal case emerged in the UK: a British judge imposed heavy sentences on four Palestine Action activists for vandalizing an Elbit Systems factory, ruling that a 'terrorist link' existed in their actions.