Ulm Court Bars Key Experts as Defense Moves to Remove Judge

Defense lawyers for five activists arrested in September over a break-in at an Israeli arms factory in Ulm, Germany, have formally requested that the presiding judge recuse herself from the case.

The legal team alleges bias after the Stuttgart regional court rejected applications to hear testimony from two expert witnesses who were prepared to explain the technical and legal connections between the facility and the war in Gaza.

Daniel Tatlow-Devally, Zo Hailu, Crow Tricks, Vi Kovarbasic, and Leandra Rollo have been held in pretrial detention since 8 September. The group, known as the Ulm Five, is accused of smashing the glass facade and office equipment at the Ulm site of Elbit Systems.

On 14 October, the defense presented Dr. Shir Hever, a weapons expert, to testify on the role of the Tactical Data Links laboratory in the conflict. The judge rejected the application after deliberations, ruling that the software developed at the lab had no connection to Israel's offensive in Gaza.

Two days later, on 16 October, the court also rejected the application for Professor Isabel Feichtner, an international law expert who was scheduled to address the characterization of the conflict as a genocide.

Benjamin Düsberg, a defense lawyer representing Tatlow-Devally, called the decision "absurd." He stated that the court had heard no evidence on the topic yet, meaning it could not know the connections the expert was meant to explain.

Düsberg told reporters outside the court on Friday that the proceedings feel like "a pure show trial." He argued that the defendants targeted the specific laboratory where the technology is developed, a factor the court failed to consider.

The defense team has now filed an application to remove Judge Kathrin Lauchstadt on grounds of bias. Düsberg emphasized that the court assumed there was no connection to the war without knowing the technical details of production in Ulm.

Defence attorneys have also raised concerns about the conduct of police witnesses. They stated that successive officers told the court they were instructed by the prosecution not to investigate Elbit Systems' activities in relation to the genocide in Gaza.

Mimi Tatlow-Golden, the mother of one defendant, said that police officer Mr. Herold testified that 38 percent of Elbit's profits went abroad. When asked if he traced where that money went, he replied that it was not his area of expertise.

On 25 August, the court heard from Ms. Jager of the Stuttgart State Criminal Police Office, who processed the defendants at the Ulm-Mitte police station. Tatlow-Golden said Jager could not recall any details of her interactions with the group, including whether they asked for lawyers.

Tatlow-Golden noted that the defendants were denied access to their lawyers and family for 12 hours. She said Jager also could not recall multiple attempts by lawyers to speak with their clients, despite Daniel Tatlow-Devally identifying her as the officer who kept saying "later."