An Irish activist has been held in a German remand prison for more than two months after being accused of participating in an attack on a subsidiary of the Israeli arms company Elbit, a case that has sparked protests in Dublin and raised concerns about Germany's treatment of Palestinian activism.
According to a report by the Irish Times on Wednesday, Daniel Tatlow-Devally, a 32-year-old from Dublin, was arrested on Sept. 8 in the southern German town of Ulm alongside four others from Germany, the UK, and Spain.
Prosecutors alleged that the group broke into the company's premises in the early morning, destroying office and technical equipment with axes, setting off smoke bombs, and spray-painting the building.
A video of the incident was later posted online. The group waited for the police to arrive, and all of them were detained at the scene.
Tatlow-Devally now faces possible charges, including trespassing, criminal damage, and membership in a criminal organization, which carry a potential sentence of up to five years.
They are reportedly being held on remand for 23 hours a day, with one 30-minute visit permitted every two weeks.
German prosecutors claim the conditions are standard, but the detention has enraged family members, supporters, and lawyers, who say it is disproportionate and politically motivated.
Tatlow-Devally's father, Dublin senior counsel Conor Devally, said his child was held in a police cell for 30 hours after arrest and "denied access to a lawyer despite repeated requests."
However, federal prosecutors in Stuttgart disagree, claiming Tatlow-Devally was read their rights in English and "at first explicitly relinquished their right to a public defender."
Their lawyer, Christina Mucha, says Tatlow-Devally declined a court-appointed lawyer and asked to be represented by her, but that police blocked repeated attempts to contact her client.
A Stuttgart judge ruled that there was a risk the suspects might flee and ordered their continued detention.
Prosecutors are also invoking Article 129 of the German criminal code, which relates to criminal and terrorist organizations—a move the defense strongly contests, arguing it is unclear what organization is being alleged.
The defense says the action targeted property, not people, and was intended to protest Israel's military campaign in Gaza. It accuses Elbit of "war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Gaza."
German prosecutors say the investigation concerns an attack on a German-registered company and that whether any antisemitic motivation exists "is the subject of the investigation."
Tatlow-Devally, who studied philosophy at Trinity College Dublin and has lived in Berlin for seven years, was unable to take up a job offer because of the detention.
