On Monday, 27 April 2026 at 9:00 a.m., the trial of five young people who have been held in pre-trial detention since 8 September 2025 – for more than seven months – will begin before the State Security Chamber of the Stuttgart Regional Court. The hearing will take place in Courtroom 2, Ground Floor, Asperger Straße 47, 70439 Stuttgart. The five defendants – the “Ulm 5” – are accused of having caused property damage on the premises of Elbit Systems Deutschland in Ulm. No one was injured.
Stammheim Is No Coincidence – and the Court Remains Silent The defence team has repeatedly asked the court in writing why the trial is being held at the Stuttgart-Stammheim courthouse – a venue inextricably linked to the terrorism trials of the 1970s. This is not a regular courthouse in any meaningful sense; rather, it consists of courtrooms annexed to the prison and used by the Stuttgart Court of Appeal. To date, no answer has been provided. The defence sees no reasonable justification for this choice; other courtrooms in Stuttgart were available. Staging the trial in this building amounts to a prejudgement of the defendants and gives little confidence that there will be a fair, rule-of-law process.
Seven Months of Pre-Trial Detention Are Disproportionate The prosecution has charged the five defendants with: membership of a criminal organisation, joint property damage, and trespass. None of the defendants has a prior criminal record. None used violence against any person. Continued detention for more than seven months is not proportionate to the alleged offence. The defence team continues to demand the immediate release of the defendants from pre-trial detention.
The Prosecution Has Persistently Failed to Ask the Decisive Questions Central to the defence is something that the prosecution has consistently refused to investigate: the role of Elbit Systems Deutschland in the genocide of the Palestinian population in Gaza. As early as November 2025, the defence team formally requested that the prosecution investigate which products the Ulm-based company supplies, and to whom. The prosecution ignored this application and did not even deem it necessary to question a single person at Elbit Systems Deutschland on the matter.
In the course of the proceedings, the defence will demonstrate that Elbit Systems Deutschland actively and in multiple ways contributes to the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza. To this end, we will submit corresponding motions for evidence before the court. Criminal proceedings that ignore this question are incomplete proceedings. It will become clear that the actions of our clients were legally and morally justified as an act of necessity.
Who Are the “Ulm 5”? Five young people – students, artists, activists – from Ireland, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Germany, who for years have campaigned for Palestinian rights through legal means. Their action on 8 September 2025 was an expression of deep moral conviction – civil disobedience directed exclusively at property, in order to save human lives. Members of the press are warmly invited to attend the opening of the trial. The defence team is available for enquiries.
The Defence Team in proceedings 18 KLs 36 Js 123/25
Contact:
Dr. Maja Beisenherz, Munich – Info@beisenherz.eu – 0177 / 70 95 812
Michael Brenner, Nurnberg, michael.brenner@anw-nbg.de, 0911 / 37 66 42 77
Mathes Breuer, Munich – breuer@kanzlei-abe.de – 0175 / 52 46 963
Anna Magdalena Busl, Bonn – busl@anwaltsbuero-bonn.de – 0176 / 23 23 32 35
Benjamin Düsberg, Berlin – mail@rechtsanwalt-duesberg.de – 0157 / 30 30 8383
Carolin Kaufmann, Berlin – kaufmann@akm-berlin.de – 0172 / 4721420
Rosa Mayer-Eschenbach, Munich – eschenbach@kanzlei-abe.de – 0176 / 65 35 9443
Christina Mucha, Memmingen – info@kanzlei-mucha.de – 08331 / 69 08 136
Nina Onèr, Berlin – kanzlei@ninaoner.de – 030 / 22185454
Matthias Schuster, Berlin – mail@anwalt-schuster.de – 0176 / 24 75 8230
Martina Sulzberger, Augsburg – kanzlei@anwaeltin-sulzberger.de – 0821 / 50 87 3850