I’m just back from a trip to Germany to visit one of my closest friends, Daniel, who’s been held in solitary confinement 23h a day for the past ten months in a 2 × 5m cell.
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Their only other communication is via letters which are, as you might expect, opened and read by the justice system, which adds weeks of delay to any correspondence.
The only thing Daniel can do is read the limited books they have access to, exercise, or sleep. And access to the exercise equipment is dependent on specific guards being available. Daniel said they’ve recently had to go 6 weeks without access to the equipment.
Daniel loves long distance running outdoors.
It’s hard to tell to how well Daniel is really holding up or whether they’re putting on a brave face for friends and family. I think I would be an empty shell of a human by this point in their shoes. That Daniel is still the same empathetic and enthusiastic goofball is nothing short of miraculous.
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I’m just back from a trip to Germany to visit one of my closest friends, Daniel, who’s been held in solitary confinement 23h a day for the past ten months in a 2 × 5m cell.
They get one hour of visitation per month.
Their only other communication is via letters which are, as you might expect, opened and read by the justice system, which adds weeks of delay to any correspondence.
The only thing Daniel can do is read the limited books they have access to, exercise, or sleep. And access to the exercise equipment is dependent on specific guards being available. Daniel said they’ve recently had to go 6 weeks without access to the equipment.
Daniel loves long distance running outdoors.
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It’s hard to tell to how well Daniel is really holding up or whether they’re putting on a brave face for friends and family. I think I would be an empty shell of a human by this point in their shoes. That Daniel is still the same empathetic and enthusiastic goofball is nothing short of miraculous.
Daniel and the other defendants (the Ulm 5) broke into a building of Elbit Systems, an Israeli weapons manufacturer to destroy equipment there in the hopes of preventing some small amount of the genocide taking place in Palestine. Only property damage occurred, no people were harmed or threatened and the 5 voluntarily waited to be peacefully arrested.
I believe on Wednesday, Zo, one of the 5, said something to the effect of “this would all be worthwhile if we manage to save one child’s life”
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I also attended some of the trial in Stuttgart which is an absolute farce.
There is no audio or video recording of the trail. Photographs are only permitted for two minutes before proceedings begin.
While journalists are allowed laptops, pen, and paper, public attendees (like myself) are not. Photos are allowed for two minutes at the start of each day. We cannot even bring water in. The only access to water is to cut your hands and drink from the taps in the bathrooms.
Security requires you to go through a metal detector, a full pat-down, and your shoes and the soles of your feet are checked. I was verbally sexually harassed going through security on Wednesday and I’ve heard others have had even worse experiences previously.
While my own experience is pretty immaterial given.. everything else, it did feel like a microcosm of the whole situation. Needlessly cruel, dehumanising, and intended to delay and frustrate.
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Daniel and the other defendants (the Ulm 5) broke into a building of Elbit Systems, an Israeli weapons manufacturer to destroy equipment there in the hopes of preventing some small amount of the genocide taking place in Palestine. Only property damage occurred, no people were harmed or threatened and the 5 voluntarily waited to be peacefully arrested.
I believe on Wednesday, Zo, one of the 5, said something to the effect of “this would all be worthwhile if we manage to save one child’s life”
I also attended some of the trial in Stuttgart which is an absolute farce.
There is no audio or video recording of the trail. Photographs are only permitted for two minutes before proceedings begin.
While journalists are allowed laptops, pen, and paper, public attendees (like myself) are not. Photos are allowed for two minutes at the start of each day. We cannot even bring water in. The only access to water is to cut your hands and drink from the taps in the bathrooms.
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Security requires you to go through a metal detector, a full pat-down, and your shoes and the soles of your feet are checked. I was verbally sexually harassed going through security on Wednesday and I’ve heard others have had even worse experiences previously.
While my own experience is pretty immaterial given.. everything else, it did feel like a microcosm of the whole situation. Needlessly cruel, dehumanising, and intended to delay and frustrate.
Daniel and their co-defendants (the Ulm 5) are separated from their legal teams by a wall of bulletproof glass and they cannot communicate effectively. They have to use microphones, which seem to cut out frequently, or speak through a grill in the wall. And they must juggle listening to the lawyers, the judge, and translators simultaneously.
Every day in court, the 5 request that they be allowed sit with their lawyers and every day, the judge denies their requests.
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Daniel and their co-defendants (the Ulm 5) are separated from their legal teams by a wall of bulletproof glass and they cannot communicate effectively. They have to use microphones, which seem to cut out frequently, or speak through a grill in the wall. And they must juggle listening to the lawyers, the judge, and translators simultaneously.
Every day in court, the 5 request that they be allowed sit with their lawyers and every day, the judge denies their requests.
They request access to phone calls while in prison, and are denied.
They ask for handcuffs to be removed while in transit in police vehicles (and their ankles remain cuffed), for some of them up to three hours from their respective prisons to the court, and are denied.
They ask for an independent stenographer and a courtroom sketch artist, and are denied.
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It’s hard to capture the disposition of the judge but “dismissive, belittling, and demonstrating a complete disregard for any semblance of a fair trial” start to come close.
The kind of person who would laugh at the hardship she has just caused, then roll her eyes and complain that she doesn’t get what all the fuss is about.
Repeatedly.
A delegation of Irish politicians also attended on Wednesday and were outraged by the lack of records and themselves were not allowed to bring in pen and paper. I truly hope they can put pressure on the German government or the EU to do *something* about how this entire case is being handled.
I’m no lawyer but it seems blatantly obvious that multiple human rights have been violated here.
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They request access to phone calls while in prison, and are denied.
They ask for handcuffs to be removed while in transit in police vehicles (and their ankles remain cuffed), for some of them up to three hours from their respective prisons to the court, and are denied.
They ask for an independent stenographer and a courtroom sketch artist, and are denied.
It’s hard to capture the disposition of the judge but “dismissive, belittling, and demonstrating a complete disregard for any semblance of a fair trial” start to come close.
The kind of person who would laugh at the hardship she has just caused, then roll her eyes and complain that she doesn’t get what all the fuss is about.
Repeatedly.
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A delegation of Irish politicians also attended on Wednesday and were outraged by the lack of records and themselves were not allowed to bring in pen and paper. I truly hope they can put pressure on the German government or the EU to do *something* about how this entire case is being handled.
I’m no lawyer but it seems blatantly obvious that multiple human rights have been violated here.
I grew up with a love of Star Wars and superheroes, the contemporary morality plays that teach you when to stand up for the defenceless, when to resist oppressive regimes. Andor showed, to widespread acclaim, the impact that a brave few can achieve when they’re willing to sacrifice everything. I gather than religious texts occasionally covers similar themes.
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It feels reductive to draw comparison to what is essentially children’s entertainment, but if you’ve ever wondered “what would I do in this situation?” I hope you have even a fraction of the courage of the Ulm 5.
If at this point, you still believe that Israel is justified in killing civilians and children, denying aid and medicine, demolishing hospitals, murdering journalists, and raping activists, I really don’t know what to say. But if you find yourself on that side of history, I hope that you can still see that Daniel and the others acted purely in defence of vulnerable people in a situation beyond desperate.
If that’s not heroism, I don’t know what is.
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If at this point, you still believe that Israel is justified in killing civilians and children, denying aid and medicine, demolishing hospitals, murdering journalists, and raping activists, I really don’t know what to say. But if you find yourself on that side of history, I hope that you can still see that Daniel and the others acted purely in defence of vulnerable people in a situation beyond desperate.
If that’s not heroism, I don’t know what is.
I’ve spent these past few days dancing between seething rage at the justice system, profound admiration for my friend their co-defendants, and intense gratitude for the community of activists and volunteers who are fight for justice.
More than anything else though, I just fucking miss my friend.
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I grew up with a love of Star Wars and superheroes, the contemporary morality plays that teach you when to stand up for the defenceless, when to resist oppressive regimes. Andor showed, to widespread acclaim, the impact that a brave few can achieve when they’re willing to sacrifice everything. I gather than religious texts occasionally covers similar themes.
It feels reductive to draw comparison to what is essentially children’s entertainment, but if you’ve ever wondered “what would I do in this situation?” I hope you have even a fraction of the courage of the Ulm 5.
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I’ve spent these past few days dancing between seething rage at the justice system, profound admiration for my friend their co-defendants, and intense gratitude for the community of activists and volunteers who are fight for justice.
More than anything else though, I just fucking miss my friend.
@BenRiceM absolute disgrace. Nobody died or was hurt so what on earth they’re treating them like this for is beyond me. Disgraceful
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Daniel and their co-defendants (the Ulm 5) are separated from their legal teams by a wall of bulletproof glass and they cannot communicate effectively. They have to use microphones, which seem to cut out frequently, or speak through a grill in the wall. And they must juggle listening to the lawyers, the judge, and translators simultaneously.
Every day in court, the 5 request that they be allowed sit with their lawyers and every day, the judge denies their requests.
@BenRiceM
No justice at all -
I’ve spent these past few days dancing between seething rage at the justice system, profound admiration for my friend their co-defendants, and intense gratitude for the community of activists and volunteers who are fight for justice.
More than anything else though, I just fucking miss my friend.
@BenRiceM I am part of a group of people who send letters to the prisoners around the world. Do you know if there is a way to write to Daniel and the Ulm5?
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I’m just back from a trip to Germany to visit one of my closest friends, Daniel, who’s been held in solitary confinement 23h a day for the past ten months in a 2 × 5m cell.
They get one hour of visitation per month.
@BenRiceM thank you for sharing this. Actions like theirs are not in vain. Their heroism inspires and gives a reason for all of us to try harder. I wish and hope Daniel and the rest of the team will be given at least some of their rights back. I hope they will be released.
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I’ve spent these past few days dancing between seething rage at the justice system, profound admiration for my friend their co-defendants, and intense gratitude for the community of activists and volunteers who are fight for justice.
More than anything else though, I just fucking miss my friend.
@BenRiceM Sending you, Daniel, and the rest of these heroes all my love and solidarity.
In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
And those on the wrong side of history today will pay for their crimes. It is up to each one of us to make sure of it.
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P pelle@veganism.social shared this topic
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I’ve spent these past few days dancing between seething rage at the justice system, profound admiration for my friend their co-defendants, and intense gratitude for the community of activists and volunteers who are fight for justice.
More than anything else though, I just fucking miss my friend.
-
If at this point, you still believe that Israel is justified in killing civilians and children, denying aid and medicine, demolishing hospitals, murdering journalists, and raping activists, I really don’t know what to say. But if you find yourself on that side of history, I hope that you can still see that Daniel and the others acted purely in defence of vulnerable people in a situation beyond desperate.
If that’s not heroism, I don’t know what is.
@BenRiceM amen
