Ulm 5 show trial exposes German judiciary as protector of genocide

Stuttgart — The trial of five activists (including 2 British and 1 Irish) prosecuted for allegedly targeting Elbit Systems, Israel’s biggest arms manufacturer, begins today in Stuttgart. This is the latest instance of Western states deploying repressive legal powers against those who act to stop the genocide in Gaza. The case mirrors a pattern seen across Europe, and most starkly in Britain, where activists facing prosecution for actions against Elbit Systems have been subjected to terrorism-adjacent charges, prolonged detention, and a legal process designed to oppress rather than adjudicate.

The Ulm 5 - Daniel Tatlow-Devally (Ireland), Zo Hailu (UK), Crow Tricks (UK), Vi Kovarbasic (Germany), and Leandra Rollo (Spain/Argentina) - were arrested on 8th September 2025 following an action at Elbit Systems in Ulm. Elbit supplies 86% of the Israeli military's weapons and surveillance technology deployed in Gaza. The context of their prosecution is inseparable from Germany's own role in that genocide. Israel's second-largest arms supplier after the United States, Germany has issued export licences worth nearly €485 million since October 2023. When Nicaragua brought Germany before the ICJ over its complicity, documents obtained under press law revealed that Germany had coordinated its testimony with Israel before appearing at court. Chancellor Merz then publicly assured Netanyahu that Germany would find ways for him to visit without facing arrest, a direct repudiation of its obligations to enforce the ICC warrant. The German state's response to the public that overwhelmingly opposes its support for genocide has been the prosecution of those who acted on their convictions.

Nearly eight months later, none of the five have been released. They have spent that time dispersed across five separate prisons in south-west Germany, held under conditions that include up to 23 hours daily lock-up, surveilled and severely restricted visits, monitored legal consultations, and denial of adequate medical care. Pre-trial detention under Section 129 - membership of a criminal organisation - has already exceeded the legally permitted six-month time limit. All five have been denied bail on the grounds that they pose a flight risk, despite having waited for arrest after the action and making no attempt to conceal their identities. Even more strikingly, one court argued that because the defendants had not expected to face pre-trial detention, such detention was therefore warranted.

Section 129 requires no clearly defined criteria and has a long history of deployment against political dissidents. The charges will be heard at Stammheim, the maximum-security facility synonymous with West Germany's terrorism trials of the 1970s. The choice of venue speaks for itself.

The judiciary has compounded these violations. In the most recent decision refusing bail, the Higher Regional Court speculated on the likely severity of sentencing - before the trial has begun, and without hearing a single piece of defence evidence. As lower courts in Germany typically follow such indications from higher courts, the five may already be walking into a predetermined verdict. By the time any verdict is reached, the Ulm 5 will have spent nearly eleven months in prison - months in which Elbit Systems has continued to operate, ship weapons, and supply an army engaged in the documented killing of Palestinian civilians.

Of Zo’s treatment in prison, their mother Nicola Robertson said: 

“Zo was read their rights: you may make a call to a lawyer and a family member or a friend, and then denied any phone call. Zo was stripped naked, completely naked, and given a nappy - and left in a cell like that for 6 hours. Zo’s taken a prison cleaning job to get out of the 23 hours a day isolation, and to earn a shower on cleaning days. Showering regularly is not allowed. Zo is only paid at 4 cents per hour. So to call me for 30 minutes, Zo has to work 15 hours.

I find it unbelievable that a person upholding international law, trying to prevent a genocide, is being subjected to this kind of abuse. Why are they being punished like this? There hasn’t even been a trial. Where’s the presumption of innocence? Zo would actually hate that I’m focusing on them and their prison conditions, but eyes need to be on the disproportionate response of the state.”  

Anas Mustapha, Head of Public Advocacy at CAGE, said: 

"What is happening in Stuttgart is not an isolated case, it is part of a coordinated crackdown across Western states on those who refuse to be bystanders to genocide. We have seen it in Britain, in Germany, and multiple EU countries: terrorism-adjacent laws, punishing pre-trial conditions, a judiciary that signals its verdict before the trial begins, and politicians who intervene to ensure it does. The Ulm 5 acted against an arms manufacturer supplying a genocide. Germany's response has been to imprison them for nearly a year."

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A full press conference from the 23rd of March with the families of the Ulm5 can be watched here. Speakers included family members Nicola Robertson and Mimi Tatlow-Golden, defence lawyers Nina Öner and Matthias Schuster, and Andrew Feinstein, Executive Director of Shadow World Investigations. The press conference highlighted serious concerns regarding the prolonged pre-trial detention of the five activists: Daniel Tatlow-Devally, Zo Hailu, Crow Tricks, Vi Kovarbasic, and Leandra Rollo - who were arrested in September 2025 following an action at Elbit Systems in Ulm.