Irish MPs urge Martin to raise Elbit trial with German chancellor
An Irish parliamentary delegation wants Dublin to challenge Germany over the strict detention of an activist accused of sabotaging an Israeli arms factory, a dispute that threatens to overshadow upcoming EU presidency talks.
A seven-member Irish delegation has called on the Irish government to dispatch observers to a high-security trial in Stuttgart and to confront the German chancellor about the case next week. The politicians, spanning parties from Fine Gael to Sinn Féin, want Prime Minister Micheál Martin to raise the treatment of Daniel Tatlow-Devally when Friedrich Merz visits Dublin on Tuesday.
Tatlow-Devally is one of five activists facing up to five years in prison for an attack on a facility owned by Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems last September. German prosecutors allege the group destroyed equipment and smashed windows, causing roughly €1m in damage. The activists claimed responsibility, citing a desire to interrupt Elbit’s deliveries to Israel and highlight Germany’s status as the second-largest arms supplier to the country after the US.
The case underscores the mounting legal risks facing direct-action protests against European defense supply chains. German authorities have charged the defendants with membership in a criminal organisation under section 129 of the criminal code. This allows the state to bypass the standard six-month limit on pre-trial detention, a hardline tactic that mirrors a recent British ruling where activists received lengthy sentences under a "terrorist connection" for a similar attack on an Elbit factory.
Mairéad Farrell, a Sinn Féin deputy who visited Tatlow-Devally in prison, described conditions she found shocking. “He is 23 hours a day in his cell,” Farrell said, noting the 5x2 metre space and a restriction of just one hour of visitation per month. “It just seems that there’s very harsh conditions that seem unwarranted for the scale of the fact that these people haven’t harmed people,” she added.
The delegation also criticised the courtroom setup, where the defendants are held behind a glass wall. Lawyers argue this barrier prevents the activists from communicating freely with their legal counsel, hindering their right to representation. “One of the accused said that they felt that they couldn’t really participate fully in the trial … because of these barriers that have been put in place,” Farrell said.
Court representatives have defended the detention conditions as proportionate to the severity of the charges, and judges previously denied bail citing a flight risk. The trial is expected to conclude around January, but the Irish delegation intends to return to Germany as observers before then. Farrell stated that Dublin's continued presence was “absolutely crucial” to monitoring the proceedings.
