Press contact: ulm5family@proton.me
Ulm5: Palestine activists have been one year in prison in Germany without a verdict
Supporters gather in Dublin and London. EU Commission highlights importance of fair trial. Families gave statements on one year of prison.
On September 8, 2025, five people, Crow Tricks, Zo Hailu, Daniel Tatlow-Devally, Leandra Rollo, and Vi Kovarbasic from the UK, Ireland, Spain/Argentina, and Germany, were arrested following an action in Ulm, Germany, in the premises of Elbit Systems Deutschland, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms producer. The action was recorded via head-cameras, and the five awaited arrest on site. The prosecutor’s office alleges 1 million euro in damage to the arms company’s premises. The trial which has followed is rife with procedural irregularities.
One of the defendants, Daniel Tatlow-Devally, 33, recollected the conditions they were held in for 30 hours upon their initial arrest:
“The cells where we were held had a bare plastic mattress, a fluorescent light that could not be turned off, and a hole in the ground with a minuscule trickle of water that served as a toilet. [There was] no soap, no washing facilities, and no toilet paper.”
In the same court statement, Tatlow-Devally explained that they had been prevented access to legal representation prior to their first appearance in court:
“At multiple points, I requested to make a call that would put me in touch with my legal representation. I was told repeatedly […] that this would happen later. I made the same request to place a call to my father to inform him of my whereabouts. I received the same answer. In the case of my legal representation […] ‘later’ meant 2 weeks after the day of my arrest. In the case of my family, it meant 4 weeks.”
The defendants, known as the Ulm5, are presented in court in restraints, behind high-security glass. They are not permitted to sit next to their lawyers during proceedings.
Prison and trial conditions prompted a cross-party, government and opposition delegation of Irish politicians, to attend the trial on July 22nd as members of the public. A transcript and video of their press conference in Dublin on July 23rd is available online. Barry Ward, Irish Member of Parliament, lawyer, and counsel before the International Criminal Court, stated the trial was:
“… far short of the minimum standards we expect for fair trials,” … “There must be the outward expression of fairness and equality within the courtroom. What I saw in Stammheim did not show that.”
In Brussels, 21 cross-party Members of European Parliament, on June 6th, asked the EU Commission to look into the trial’s “procedural irregularities”, expressing the trial bears “the hallmarks of political persecution”.
EU Commissioner for the Rule of Law, Michael McGrath, responded that, while responsibility falls on Member States, governments are required to ensure defendants are not presented as guilty “through the use of measures of physical restraint”.
An EU Commission report on Member State compliance with this requirement will be published in late 2026.
Acknowledging one year in prison, families and supporters will gather on Tuesday for demonstrations in:
Where: Leinster House
When: Tuesday Sept 8th, 1 pm
and London
Where: Germany Embassy, London SW1X 8PZ
When: Tuesday Sept 8th, 4 pm
Family members share their sentiments on their loved ones being detained for one year without a verdict:
Statements of the families:
Nuala Tricks, the mother of Crow Tricks, stated:
“Each day for the past year I have started by worrying and willing that Crow keeps physically and mentally well. I worry if they are safe, I worry if they are coping with the isolation. I worry how it will be for them getting back into the world in the future. I think about the precious time I get to hug them at the start and end of a prison visit. Then I am thankful. Thankful that I am able to do that, thankful that my child is alive.
“The Ulm5 are an inspiration. The world would be a better place with more principled, peaceful humans with genuine concern for humanity rather than a world of people putting profit before human lives.”
Mimi Tatlow-Golden, the mother of Daniel Tatlow-Devally, stated:
“A year is an extraordinary amount of time to have your child held in prison without a verdict. We have spent the past year living around Daniel’s detention and this 8-month trial.
“We are exhausted but our determination has not waned. This has taken over our lives, but we are still free. Daniel is still in there, so we keep going.”
Daniel’s sister, Clara Tatlow-Devally, stated:
“1 year in prison and nearly 6 months into the trial and it feels like almost no progress has been made. It’s disappointing and painful to watch the court process, where it feels like the defence is not being heard. Almost every request put forward by the defence is denied, and rights that my brother and the Ulm5 are promised under European law are infringed upon each day the trial takes place.
“Daniel is wrongly presented to the court as though they are dangerous: separated from their lawyers behind a thick glass wall, in handcuffs, led by security. I know the person behind the glass – my older brother, who I love dearly and miss every day. I know my brother is strong – I know that Daniel is resilient, resourceful and resolute. But I’m also really worried. One year of 23 hours a day isolation in a tiny cell, and counting...”
Daniel’s father, barrister Conor Devally, stated:
“I recognise that the combination of spurious reasons for denying bail, the repressive terms of detention and the mode and conduct of their trial leave no doubt but that the accused are being subjected to pre-emptive punishment, and are not being tried in accordance with European norms or acceptable impartiality.”
Tessi Tricks, sibling of Crow Tricks, stated:
“I remember the September breeze when I got the call from my mum to say my sibling had been arrested.
“We were barred access to talk to them for a month, it was a month full of fear, desperation and longing. I knew then that the German justice system was heavy-handed when it came to my sibling and the Ulm5: they isolated the activists from crucial sources of support when they needed it most.
“September is here again and I still feel traces of that original fear when I see how the trial has proceeded. Crow and the Ulm5 are still in prison. They are handcuffed as they enter the courtroom, they are separated from their lawyers and assumed to be guilty. One year later and we are still here, requesting a fair trial, the presumption of innocence, and unrestricted and confidential communication with legal support during proceedings. These are basic human rights.
“Alongside my fear, I have a sense of vital hope. I see the strength of my sibling and the Ulm5, by the smiles they share, by their unshakeable knowledge that they have a right to a fair trial, that international law must be considered, that Elbit Systems needs to be investigated.
“What’s happening must be witnessed, we are calling for UK MPs to attend trial as legal observers.”
Jem Golden provided the statement:
“I am Daniel Tatlow-Devally’s stepdad and helped to raise them from around the age of 11 in Dublin. I have attended most days of the trial since May, and we are now approaching the one-year anniversary since their arrest in Ulm.
“The two most enduring impressions of the trial would be first and foremost the resilience, compassion, outrage, good humour and implacable righteousness of the five which bursts into life as soon as they come into the courtroom. Their cruel treatment and abuses by the German state to me seem only to have reinforced their heartfelt conviction and empathy, not weaken their resolve. Because Daniel and I share a very playful bond and always have had I started doing a little Rocky Horror Picture Show/Tim Curry tribute dance from time to time when he is brought in, only to encourage their lovely smile.
“I consider the Ulm5 to be beautiful, brave mavericks. The other impression is the ‘infrastructure of impunity’ that this courtroom and judges and prosecutors are desperate to maintain. I almost feel embarrassed by the court’s heavy-handed tactics designed to show strength; and yet the chamber’s unease is palpable the longer this trial is going on.”
Nicky Robertson, mother of Zo Hailu, stated: “Which is wrong: the act of supporting genocide, or the act of trying to prevent a genocide? Which is wrong: producing weapons use to target refugee camps, to burn children and their parents alive, or trying to prevent these weapons from reaching Gaza?
“Attempting to brand young activists of conscience as criminals in my opinion is cowardly.
“While this court case drags on, with the judge out of the courtroom almost as much as she is in it – and with police witnesses so slow to answer simple questions – the genocide continues unabated with weapons from Germany delivered to Israel. The bigger question remains as to whether the judiciary will act separately from the state based on the facts in plain sight. In Zo's words, ‘will the court choose complicity in genocide like the state, or ‘nie wieder’ – never again?’”
Lawyers and loved ones of Vi Kovarbasic and Leandra Rollo are also available for contact.
Press contact:
ulm5family@proton.me