At the start of the second court hearing of the Ulm 5, lawyers and families express their fear that this trial is unfair. Their latest press release is below this report.
The trial of the Ulm 5 started on 27th April full of irregularities. It began with a pathetic shitshow by the German State. The presiding Judge Kathrin Lauchstädt seems to be dead set on presenting the human right defenders, Vi, Crow, Daniel, Zo and Leandra, as dangerous criminals. Now both the team of lawyers and the judge are trying to get rid of each other. But one side is not doing their job to guarantee a fair trial, and this is the Staatsräson infected German State.
On the first day, in a crystal-clear move by the judge to set the image of the defendants as a threat to the public and society, they were brought in wearing handcuffs and set behind a bullet-proof glass box separated from not only the public but their lawyers. Each had security personnel watching over them.
The lawyers had complained for weeks about the seating arrangements, since they want to be able to speak directly and privately with their defendants. That is the norm in any fair trial. But the judge refused. After 20 minutes of fighting for their defendants’ rights to a fair trial the lawyers left the room and the judge called for a 2-hour recess. During this two-hour intermission, the lawyers tried again to speak with the judge but in vain.
The defence lawyers then came outside and spoke on the rally that was taking place about what was happening to both the people in the rally and those that have been in the court room, since their microphones in the court room were switched off and it was nearly impossible to follow what was happening due to the glass partition that also separated the public from the lawyers and bench.
When the lawyers came back into the courtroom, the judge ignored them. They tried to sit next to the defendants in the glass box prepared to continue the trial, but the judge refused. She gave them 5 minutes to take their previous seats back, trying to separate them again from their clients. After 5 minutes, the lawyers were talking so the judge called it a day and said the trial will resume on the 4th of May.
At that moment she threatened to have the lawyers thrown of the case. Seeing that this case is the opposite of a fair trial, the lawyers presented a motion for the judges to recuse themselves. It is clear to anyone paying attention, that only new judges can give any fairness in this show trial.
Most mainstream German press, thanks to a biased report from DPA just repeated the judges and prosecutor and failed to talk about the lawyers’ fair demands.
We will see how the next trial, on Monday 11th of May, goes. Will the judges even pretend to care about fairness and rule of law? Or will they continue the farce of equating people trying to stop the genocide of the Palestinian people with murders and dangerous criminals.
But we will for sure one day see the real criminals on trial. And we will go to the Hague to see Germany making a fool of itself, trying to convince real judges that nations have the right to exist but people, especially Palestinians, don’t.
Defence Calls for a Fair Trial and Respect for the Presumption of Innocence – Demands Recusal of Current Judges Due to Prejudice
Press release: Defence Team of the Ulm 5 from 7th May 2026 (8th May 2026)
Second Day of Trial on Monday, 11th May 2026
The defence team for the Ulm 5 are appalled by the conduct of the trial by Presiding Judge Kathrin Lauchstädt on the first day of the trial and the confirmation of her rulings by her fellow judges.
In violation of the presumption of innocence, our clients were presented to the public and the press in a manner that inevitably gives an impartial observer the impression that their guilt has already been established. As the hearing started, they were led into the courtroom in handcuffs, held like this for several minutes for the press to take photos, and then kept in a glass enclosure for the entire trial – shielded from the public by a security glass partition and additionally guarded by court officers. All of this despite the fact that the trial is taking place in the high-security courtroom within the Stammheim Prison. There is absolutely no justification for this manner of portraying our clients.
Confidential communication between the defendants and their defence lawyers was not guaranteed during the proceedings. Even non-confidential communication with the defendants was repeatedly disrupted by technical problems; for some defence lawyers, it was impossible at any point throughout the day to communicate with their client. Despite this, the court refused to accept any statements or motions from the defence -without even knowing their content. The fact that Presiding Judge Karin Lauchstädt believes she can set aside the defence’s motions without even knowing their content speaks to her relationship with the defence and the defendants: she perceives it as an attack on her authority when the defence articulates the defendants’ interests.
Prejudgment by the Court
This portrayal of our clients gives the public the impression that they are dangerous individuals and that the public and the court must be protected from them. In fact, none of the accused has a criminal record; the offence involved no violence against people or even resistance against individuals.
The Stuttgart Regional Court has made prejudicial statements to the press on multiple occasions, for example to Taz (published on 2nd May 2026). The Stuttgart Regional Court informed Taz that the choice of Stammheim as the venue for the trial was not unusual, because other cases had been heard there,
“for example, against the Islamist murderer of police officer Rouven Laur, against alleged supporters of ‘Gruppe Reuß’ [suspected of terrorism, ed.] or several cases related to the conflict between two rival gangs in the Stuttgart region.”
The Stuttgart Regional Court compares the proceedings against our clients to murder and terrorism cases. These statements reinforce the impression created in the public eye that the defendants are particularly dangerous individuals who therefore require special security measures.
Violation of our Clients’ Fundamental Rights
Before, during, and after the first day of the trial, the bench has denied our clients the right to be heard and deprived them of their status as parties to the proceedings. For this reason, the defence has filed challenges for bias against the entire bench. The very choice of seating arrangement underscores the fact that the bench regards the defendants as objects. In the case of Federici v. France, the European Court of Human Rights expressly held that the presentation of a defendant in a glass cell is, in principle, capable of violating the right to a fair trial or the presumption of innocence, and that this depends on a case-by-case assessment. In the present case, the Stuttgart Regional Court has not even made a superficial attempt at such a consideration.
The reprimand of the defence team through threats of dismissal and the imposition of costs after just the first day of the trial reinforces the impression that the court is not committed to conducting proceedings in accordance with the rule of law, but rather to implementing its own ideas at the expense of our clients’ rights. Although the Regional Court has since refrained from dismissing the defence lawyers, it continues to uphold this threat in an attempt to discipline the defence.
Outlook
On the second day of the trial, our clients face the challenge of asserting their fundamental right to a fair trial without risking the loss of their defence lawyers, with whom they have built a strong relationship of trust after eight months in pre-trial detention. We call on the Stuttgart Regional Court to rectify the conditions under which the first day of the trial took place – conditions that contravene the rule of law – and to ensure that confidential communication between the defence and the defendants is permitted on the second day of the trial, whilst refraining from any prejudicial measures.
Interference with Freedom of the Press
Extraordinary scenes unfolded outside the courtroom as well, between the court bailiffs and the press spokesman, Dr Timur Lutfullin, and journalists. The defence had prepared a press pack for interested journalists and made it available initially inside and subsequently outside the courthouse. However, these press kits were confiscated from the journalists inside the courthouse by the bailiffs under the supervision of the press officer; at least one journalist was even forced to open their locker to hand over the press kit from their private belongings. The Stuttgart Regional Court does not shy away from undermining the independent work of the press by preventing journalists from freely choosing their sources whilst also severely hindering the defence of the accused, who also have the right to present their views to the press in an appropriate manner.
The undersigned are available for further inquiries.
- Dr. Maja Beisenherz, München, Info@beisenherz.eu, 0177 / 70 95 812,
- Michael Brenner, Nürnberg, michael.brenner@anw-nbg.de, 0911 / 37 66 42 77,
- Mathes Breuer, München, breuer@kanzlei-abe.de, 0175 / 52 46 963,
- Anna Magdalena Busl, Bonn, busl@anwaltsbuero-bonn.de, 0176 / 23 23 32 35,
- Benjamin Düsberg, Berlin, mail@rechtsanwalt-duesberg.de, 0157 / 30 30 8383,
- Carolin Kaufmann, Berlin, kaufmann@akm-berlin.de, 0172 / 47 21 420,
- Rosa Mayer-Eschenbach, München, eschenbach@kanzlei-abe.de, 0176 / 65 35 94 43,
- Christina Mucha, Memmingen, info@kanzlei-mucha.de, 08331 / 69 08 136,
- Nina Onèr, Berlin, kanzlei@ninaoner.de, 01520 97 33 278,
- Matthias Schuster, Berlin, mail@anwalt-schuster.de, 0176 / 24 75 8230,
- Martina Sulzberger, Augsburg, kanzlei@anwaeltin-sulzberger.de, 0821 / 50 87 3850
Families demand the German justice system conduct a fair trial; call on Ireland, Spain, and the UK to carry out trial monitoring; echo the defence’s call for recusal of entire judicial panel
Press release from families & friends of the Ulm 5 (8th May 2026)
The families and loved ones of the Ulm 5 who attended the trial opening on 27th April in Stuttgart-Stammheim are shocked at the scenes that unfolded in the courtroom: defendants paraded before press and public in handcuffs and in a glass cell, against all international norms including UN recommendations, EU directives, and rulings from the European Court of Human Rights.
Presenting our loved ones like this violates the presumption of innocence and falsely and irreversibly creates an impression of guilt and danger, when in fact the five caused no harm to any persons (nor does the prosecutor allege any), did not resist arrest, were processed peacefully by the police and have been entirely peaceful throughout their eight months of ongoing pre-trial detention.
We were further taken aback at the presiding judge’s evident contempt for the defence and we fully support the lawyers’ motion for the recusal of the judges – see their press release from yesterday, 7th May.
The presiding Judge Karin Lauchstädt refused every petition from the defence on the day, without knowing their subject, and previously rejected almost every attempt to speak with her about the conditions of the trial in advance. She also refused permission for the five to sit with their defence counsel – as is the norm in Germany, even for major crimes, of which the Ulm 5 are not accused – claiming that the courtroom technology worked as designed to facilitate communication with their defence counsel. We know this is not true, having spoken with our loved ones since.
Benjamin Düsberg, Daniel’s lawyer says: “After speaking with Daniel I now know that they were unable to follow proceedings due to gaps in the translation. Most of what happened was not translated – only when the court switched on the defence’s microphones. Also, due to the technical set-up, Daniel no longer heard the translator when my colleague Frau Mucha, Daniel’s other lawyer, spoke with Daniel via microphone. Daniel was also unaware of all our attempts to have the handcuffs removed before the five entered the courtroom and of other aspects of the surrounding events, including the presiding judge’s threat to remove the state lawyers from the case”.
Kit, Crow’s sister says: “Crow found the set up of the court intimidating. Being separated from the rest of the court room by a glass box, and only being able to communicate through a microphone and headset made them feel incredibly isolated. They said that it would make such a difference to their experience if they could just sit with their lawyers. Having so many from the community there showing support, and seeing friends and family in the crowd really helped them. Since this first day of the trial, the careful daily routines they use to manage daily life in prison have been disrupted due to overwhelming feelings of anticipation and anxiety regarding the decisions the court has been making.”
As loved ones of the Ulm 5, we are proud of the dignified and peaceful way our loved ones conducted themselves on 27th April.
In advance of the second day of the trial (11th May), we call on our governments – of Ireland, Spain, the UK – to attend to their citizens’ rights and carry out trial monitoring.
We call on Germany to follow international, European, and EU standards regarding treatment of defendants, particularly in trial settings. This means that the current judges, including the lay judges, are irreversibly tainted by the presiding judge’s decisions for the first trial day. They should be replaced and the presumption of innocence restored.
Josi, Vi’s partner says: “Regardless of what one thinks of the Ulm 5’s actions, they deserve a fair trial. The main judge is belligerent and unfit. She is not only disrespecting the five and their lawyers – she is disrespecting due process. To me, the way she is acting indicates she is under external pressure to eschew legal standards and push for a certain outcome. Regardless of the reasons behind her unjustifiable decisions and unreasonable behaviour, she should not merely recuse herself – she should be disbarred.”
This is not just about our loved ones – now, the German justice system itself is on trial.
Families and partners are available for interviews: ulm5family@proton.me
The trial resumes on Monday, 11th May 2026 at 9:00 in Stuttgart
More information at www.ulm5.info. Instagram: @theulm5
