Irish MEP rallies politicians to attend trial of pro-Palestine Dubliner detained in Germany

Andrew Walsh Reports from Strasbourg

SINN FÉIN MEP Lynn Boylan is attempting to rally European politicians to attend the trial of Irish activist Daniel Tatlow-Devally in Germany, saying she wants to show the five defendants that they have not been forgotten.

The 32-year-old Dubliner is one of five activists on trial over an alleged break-in at an Israeli-owned Elbit Systems defence factory in the German city of Ulm in September 2025.

German prosecutors allege the group caused around €1 million worth of damage and have charged them under Section 129 of the country’s criminal code, which relates to membership of a criminal organisation.

The group, known as the ‘Ulm 5′, have said they carried out an act of civil disobedience against Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, and all have denied wrongdoing.

Boylan was among a cross-party delegation of Irish politicians who attended a hearing in Stuttgart in July and subsequently raised concerns about the defendants’ treatment and the fairness of the proceedings.

Now, she wants to bring the case to the attention of parliamentarians from across Europe.

“What we’re trying to do is organise MEPs to go and do what the Irish TDs did, which is to go and monitor the trial,” she told The Journal.

Boylan said she hoped to persuade a handful of MEPs to travel to Germany in approximately two weeks, although finding a date that suited their parliamentary commitments was proving difficult.

She added that it was particularly important to involve politicians from countries other than Ireland whose citizens are also among the defendants.

“We really need some of the Spanish, some of the German MEPs to actually show an interest in this as well,” Boylan said.

Boylan is also organising a letter-writing campaign involving MEPs who cannot attend, as well as a briefing with lawyers involved in the case.

The aim, she said, was to give the defendants “a bit of hope that they haven’t been forgotten about” and reassure them that politicians were paying attention.

Tatlow-Devally has spent almost a year in pre-trial detention, with his family and members of the Irish delegation raising serious concerns about the conditions in which he is being held.

They say he spends 23 hours a day alone in a cell measuring roughly five metres by two metres, with just one hour outside in an enclosed concrete yard. His family has also described severe restrictions on visits and access to reading material.

Boylan did not visit Tatlow-Devally in prison herself, but other members of the delegation did. Speaking at a press conference after the visit, Fine Gael TD Barry Ward described the detention regime as “oppressive”, saying there appeared to be no objective basis for it.

Boylan has also publicly described the treatment of the five defendants as “absolutely horrific”.

Germany’s federal prosecutor has disputed claims that the detention conditions are disproportionate, saying the restrictions are those normally associated with a judicial order for pre-trial detention.

‘A powerful message’

Boylan renewed calls for the Irish government to send an independent observer to the trial, arguing that the move would demonstrate concern about the treatment of an Irish citizen without interfering in Germany’s judicial process.

“I don’t think it would just be optics. I actually think it would be a powerful message,” Boylan said.

She pointed to Irish consular officials attending hearings in the case of Irish citizen Ibrahim Halawa, who was detained in Egypt for four years, as an example of previous trial observation.

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“It’s a really minimum step,” Boylan said.

Boylan questioned whether the Irish government would be as reluctant to raise concerns if the proceedings were taking place in another EU member state.

“If this case is in Hungary … you’re allowed to give out about the Hungarian government,” she said, contrasting that with what she characterised as a reluctance to criticise Germany.

She argued that sending an observer would simply demonstrate that Ireland was paying attention to how one of its citizens was being treated.

“It’s also not something that’s so wild or radical that you should be embarrassed or afraid to do,” she said.

The MEP also wants to explore whether the European Commission could send an observer to assess the proceedings from a rule-of-law perspective.

‘Bizarre’ courtroom restrictions

Boylan described her experience of attending the Stuttgart hearing in July as “bizarre”.

Members of the Irish delegation said they had pens and paper confiscated before entering court and raised concerns about the defendants being seated behind a glass barrier, making communication with their lawyers difficult.

Boylan said she even had to argue with security staff to retain a tissue she needed because she had hay fever.

“Everything was taken off you, the armed guards inside in the court, like no pen and paper,” she said.

She questioned why the defendants could not sit beside their lawyers, arguing that the difficulties they faced communicating through the glass barrier were particularly striking when witnessed in person.

“It’s one thing to hear it, but to actually see it with your own eyes,” she said.

The delegation’s criticism was rejected by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a visit to Dublin later in July.

Asked about claims that the proceedings amounted to a “show trial”, Merz strongly defended Germany’s legal system.

“The German judiciary is independent and is fully bound by the law. It is absolutely clear that this is a correct trial and not a show trial,” he said.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said at the time that the Irish government would not comment on an ongoing case but had offered dedicated consular assistance to Tatlow-Devally and his family.

Boylan said the proposed MEP visit would be followed by renewed efforts to press European officials to examine the case.

“We’ve gone, we’ve seen with our own eyes, so now we’re saying you need to act on it,” she said.

“It’s one thing to hear it, but to actually see it.”