“Shut Elbit Down”: Protests against the branch of the Israeli arms company “Elbit Systems Deutschland”

dossier

“Demonstrators have set up a protest camp in front of the branch of the Israeli defense company “Elbit Systems”. What they want to achieve with it and how the company reacts. Since Tuesday, almost 30 supporters of the “Shut Elbit Down” group have been occupying a green area on Safranberg in Ulm. Coming from all over Germany, they pitched their tents directly in front of the branch of the Israeli arms company “Elbit Systems Deutschland”. The activists deliberately leave it open how long they will stay there. “If we have to, we’ll stay for a month,” announces one participant. The goal of the demonstrators: the closure of the large corporation's location in Ulm…”Report by Dennis Bacher from April 25, 2025 in schwaebische.de (“If we have to, we’ll stay a month”: demonstrators besiege an Israeli company”) with video and photos – see more about the protests and their consequences:

• Fundamental Rights Committee observes the trial against “Ulm 5” for sabotage against Elbit: the presiding judge denies the defendants basic rights
  • RAV on the trial against the “Ulm 5”: Independent observation made considerably more difficult
    “After observing the trial, the Republican Lawyers' Association (RAV) criticizes the ban on handwritten notes and restrictions on communication between the defendant and the defense. Independent observation of the conduct of negotiations will be made significantly more difficult.
    On September 25, 2026, the RAV observed the main hearing against the so-called “Ulm 5” before the 18th Large Criminal Chamber of the Stuttgart Regional Court. According to trial observer lawyer Yunus Ziyal, the conditions in the high-security room of the OLG trial building in Stuttgart-Stammheim make both independent documentation of the proceedings and the effective exercise of defense rights difficult. (…)
    The RAV is also critical of the fact that a protocol officer employed by the defense at its own expense was not permitted. Such support could be essential for effective defense work, especially in extensive criminal proceedings. A blanket exclusion would therefore require a concrete and comprehensible justification.
    Communication with the defense becomes much more difficult
    From the RAV's point of view, the defendant's spatial situation is particularly problematic. During the main hearing they sat separately from their defense lawyers in a glass box. Communication was only possible via telephone receiver. Since parts of the hearing were interpreted, the defendants, according to Ziyal's observations, had to decide at times whether they wanted to follow the translation via headphones or communicate with their defense via the telephone receiver. It was technically not possible to do both at the same time. (…)
    »What is going on in Stammheim is deeply worrying. It is very questionable whether this procedural situation can still be reconciled with the principles of the rule of law," summarizes lawyer Ziyal.
    The RAV therefore demands:
    – a proportionate design of meeting police measures
    – the approval of handwritten notes for process observers
    – a concrete examination of the approval of protocol staff as well
    – technical and spatial conditions that enable the accused to follow the interpretation and at the same time communicate confidentially with their defense…”Press release from November 10, 2026 of the RAV for process observation of the “Ulm 5” in Stammheim
  • Sabotage against Elbit: The start of the trial against “Ulm 5” ends in scandal
    "... There was tumult at the start of the trial of the "Ulm 5" in Stuttgart-Stammheim on Monday. The activists are accused, among other things, of carrying out sabotage at the German branch of the Israeli arms company Elbit Systems in Ulm in September 2024. The aim of their action was to raise awareness of Elbit's responsibility in the Gaza genocide - and to make it more difficult through direct action. The five friends have been in difficult conditions since their arrest Detention. Dozens of people came, mainly from Berlin, to support the activists, and groups from Stuttgart also joined them. There was a rally in front of the building throughout the day. The prisoners were greeted from the group with shouts of "Freedom for all political prisoners." In a full hall, Zo, Crow, Vi, Leandra and Daniel were led in handcuffs into a box behind security glass, where they sat separated from the audience and the defense The five were greeted with a long standing ovation by those present, which the judicial officers tried unsuccessfully to prevent. The emotions in the room were high because the defendants were seeing each other again for the first time since their arrest and relatives and friends were sitting in the audience.
    Both relatives and lawyers feared that it would be a show trial; The attitude of the presiding judge Kathrin Lauchstädt did not disappoint these expectations. The defense stated that they had already contacted her in advance, for example to discuss the seating arrangement. These contact attempts remained unanswered and instead a “viewing date” was unilaterally set. The defense therefore tried from the start to submit motions against the seating arrangement and requested to sit next to their clients. This is the only way to ensure unhindered and protected communication in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights. Otherwise a fair trial would not be guaranteed, said one of the lawyers. The judge denied this and any other requests, prompting protests from the defense. (…) The beginning of the hearing was difficult to hear because all of the lawyer's microphones were switched off - apparently a decision by Lauchstädt not to let the defense lawyers speak. They then left the room in protest and the judge announced a two-hour break. (…)
    After the two-hour compulsory break, the defense attorneys demonstratively took their seats in the glass box in the defendant's seats. The judge at the Stuttgart Regional Court gave them five minutes to return to their designated places and also held out the prospect of a possible release of the lawyers. The defense did not comply with the request. When the hall reopened, the lawyers continued to stand in the glass box in which Zo, Crow, Vi, Leandra and Daniel had previously been. The judge then ended the hearing. The legal profession has announced that it will file an application for bias against the presiding judge. (…) The next meeting will take place on May 11th.” Report by Noa Élie Monaé from April 28, 2026 in Neues Deutschland online 
  • Trial against “Ulm 5”: Presiding judge denies basic information to the defendants
    “… As a fundamental rights committee, we followed the opening of the criminal trial against the “Ulm 5” by the Stuttgart regional court today. However, it does not take place in the district court rooms, but rather, unusually, in the justice building in Stuttgart-Stammheim. The location serves as a replacement for the infamous “multi-purpose building” from the Stammheim trials of the 1970s. The choice of this location is already a declaration of war, which was made openly in the courtroom today.
    The five defendants are separated from their defense both spatially and communicatively. Shielded from the events in the hall by a high pane of glass, they themselves become spectators of their coming condemnation. Behind the glass they can only communicate via microphone and headphones or follow the necessary interpretation. The given setting prevents the full follow-up of the trial, in particular the reading of the indictment and confidential conversations with the defense, a violation of the right to a fair trial (Article 6 ECHR). (…) The spatial proximity of the defense and the accused is a given across the country and should also be in Stuttgart and for Judge Lauchstädt,” comments Britta Rabe, political advisor at the Committee for Fundamental Rights and Democracy…” Press release from the Fundamental Rights Committee of April 27, 2026 
• The trial against Daniel, Zo, Crow, Vi and Leandra begins on April 27th in Stammheim - Free Ulm 5 - Call for solidarity in the trial!
  “On April 27, 2026, the trial against Daniel, Zo, Crow, Vi and Leandra – also known as the Ulm5 – begins in Stammheim. It's actually about fairly banal allegations such as trespassing and damage to property - but the action is raised to a state security matter and prosecuted as a "criminal organization" according to Section 129 of the Criminal Code.They are accused of the successful sabotage of Israel's largest defense company: The activists are said to have penetrated the German site of Elbit Systems in Ulm in September last year and caused property damage amounting to around one million euros. In a video during and immediately after the action, they made the political context of the protest clear. The comrades were arrested on site.
  Seven months later, the five are still in custody, spread across various prisons in southern Germany. Bail was refused due to the alleged risk of escape and concealment - Daniel, Zo, Crow, Vi and Leandra apparently filmed themselves in the action and waited on site to be arrested.
  As an additional harassment, the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court has now even decided to keep the five activists in custody beyond the actual legal maximum period of six months. This shows the political will to persecute the judiciary here: After all, even those accused of murder were released from the remand prison after six months due to the time limit. In the case of Ulm5, there is even a risk of almost a year in custody with all the harassment until the end of the trial…”Press release from Rote Hilfe from April 23, 2026 , see also:
  • https://ulm5.info/de/ :Support the Ulm5!
• Pro-Palestinian protest: “Blood, blood, blood on your hands.” In Ulm, activists protested for several days against the Israeli arms company Elbit Systems
  "It was a concert of a different kind: On Wednesday morning, a small string orchestra blocked the entrance to a German branch of the Israeli arms company Elbit Systems in Ulm. The seven activists from the Lebenslaute network were supported by around a dozen protesters from the Shut Elbit Down - Germany campaign. In the afternoon, a demonstration with around 50 participants moved through the city, accompanied by slogans such as "Blood, blood, blood on your hands" and "Elbit Systems - child murderers". According to the police, around 40 people have been occupying a green area within sight of the arms company since Tuesday. They have come from all over Germany and have pitched around a dozen tents directly in front of the Ulm location of Elbit Systems Germany. "We are demonstrating in Ulm because we join the international campaigns against Elbit, including in Great Britain, the USA and Sweden, which are demanding that Elbit's branches be closed," said an activist in the campaign who did not want to be named »nd« The activists are demanding a stop to all arms exports to Israel and the cessation of all cooperation between the Bundeswehr and the arms industry with educational institutions. (…) Elbit Systems develops and supplies systems for the army, air force, navy and military cyberspace as well as for civil security applications - and the German subsidiary claims to develop and manufacture modern military communication devices, such as radio devices for the Bundeswehr.Night vision devices, target optics and defense systems against missile attacks are also manufactured there. The company is also working on drones and drone defense systems - technologies in which the Bundeswehr and other NATO countries are interested. The Ulm location was recently expanded to accommodate the growing business and increasing number of employees. In 2024, Elbit Systems' total sales increased by over 14 percent compared to the previous year. (…) Before the activists broke up the camp on Thursday afternoon, there was a kind of farewell concert for Elbit. This time a rap song played from a loudspeaker. The refrain: “Free, Free Palestine.” It won’t be long before we see each other again – the group has been demonstrating regularly in Ulm since December 2023.” Report by Anton Benz and Matthias Monroy from April 24, 2025 in Neues Deutschland online 

Basic information:

• https://ulm5.info/de/ :Support the Ulm5!
• “Elbit Systems is the largest private Israeli defense company. According to SIPRI, the company ranked 24th among the largest arms exporters worldwide in 2022. The company's drones are probably the most well-known, but Elbit's defense portfolio is broad and includes ammunition, surveillance and detection technologies, unmanned land and water vehicles, communications technologies and electro-optical systems. The lecture shows where these armaments are used, how Elbit Systems is expanding its presence on the European armaments market and working with Rheinmetall, among others. We also look at the strong headwinds that Elbit - like no other defense company in recent years - has faced, including in Turtle Island (USA), Great Britain and
  Australia learns. A campaign against Elbit's locations in Ulm, Berlin and Koblenz also started in Germany last year.” From theIMI notice to the event with Shut Elbit Down in March 2025
• Shut Elbit Down – Germanyon exTwitter and others:https://linktr.ee/shutelbitdownde 

See also our dossier:Arms exports from Germany to Israel have increased almost tenfold since October 7, 2023 - processed and approved as a priority

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