Daniel Tatlow-Devally is an Irish citizen who is currently on trial in Stuttgart. Part of the "The Ulm Five", he is being charged with allegedly damaging property in the offices of Elbit Systems in September 2025. The company, the group asserts, is complicit in genocide in Gaza. Daniel has been in pretrial detention for the past eight months, a particularly prolonged pretrial detention, which is highly unusual, and it violates Daniel's human rights.

While in detention, Daniel's direct access to his legal team and defence team has been restricted. Even in court, he is separated from his team behind glass, which is completely abnormal in the context of the German judicial system. In Germany, pretrial detention is supposed to be kept as short as possible. It is a last resort and generally only for a maximum of six months in complex cases, and already Daniel has been there for five months. Bail has been denied because Daniel is considered a threat to society, despite the fact he did not resist arrest, he did not harm anyone and he did not have any prior criminal convictions. The charge against Daniel is reserved for members of criminal organisations. We have to ask the question: is Daniel's act of civil disobedience worthy of such an extreme response?

His treatment within the criminal justice system has been utterly disproportionate to his actions and his family and defence team say his physical and psychological well-being and integrity have been violated and his right to a fair trial is under threat. He has been restricted access to his family and his defence team while in detention. He was allowed only one visitor for 30 minutes every two weeks. He has not been allowed to read books. He has been held up in a cell by himself for 23 hours per day. He has been behind a screen. His family have not been allowed to touch him.

Anti-genocide activists have been disproportionately punished. We have seen that held up as an example to others for highlighting corporate complicity when it comes to war crimes against Palestine. This could set a dangerous precedent for criminalising direct action. We should all be horrified that an Irish citizen is being treated with such structural violence and state violence against his well-being by another EU member state. I would like to see some intervention by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to ensure Daniel's right to a fair trial. All of us here would want to see integrity around the concept of a right to fair trial.

I also note the six or seven Irish citizens who were kidnapped this morning by the Israeli state while in international waters as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a peaceful humanitarian mission to bring much-needed aid to the people of Gaza. Kidnapping in international waters is an act that breaches international law and violates our international standards. We have come to expect this by the Israeli state but we cannot accept it as normal. We cannot accept it as normal when our citizens, who are there on a peaceful mission, are being kidnapped by the Israeli state. I would also like this House to seek a statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on what it is doing and on what levels of diplomacy it is engaging in to ensure the protection of our citizens by a third state. In any other country, if our citizens were swept up off the streets by a third country, we would be up in arms and we should be in this case as well.