Pro-Palestinian activists are facing years in prison after staging a protest last September at Elbit Systems Germany, an Israeli defence firm in the town of Ulm.
The five activists, members of Palestine Action Germany, have been paraded in front of German media in handcuffs, held in glass cages during court proceedings, and confined in solitary confinement at separate prisons for up to 23 hours a day.
Although charged with belonging to a criminal organisation and causing around €1m of damage at the Israeli company, the five have yet to be found guilty of any wrongdoing.
Known as the Ulm 5, they come from the UK, Spain, Ireland, and Germany. Their names are: Daniel Tatlow-Devally, Zo Hailu, Crow Tricks, Vi Kovarbasic and Leandra Rollo.
Their incarceration, labelled as pre-trial detention, has also cast a spotlight on Germany’s court proceedings, presumption of innocence, and the country’s pro-Israel politics.
