The Tánaiste, Simon Harris, has said that the Department of Foreign Affairs is offering support to an Irish pro-Palestine activist being held in a German prison.
Harris was responding to a Parliamentary Question from People Before Profit TD Ruth Coppinger.
Coppinger asked whether the Government planned to advocate for 31-year-old Daniel Tatlow-Devally, who was arrested along with 4 other individuals after allegedly storming the offices of Elbit Systems – an international defense contractor and military technology firm headquartered in Israel.
Harris – who is Minister for Foreign Affairs as well as Tánaiste – replied that he was aware of the case and that officials in his Department were liaising with the detained Irish citizen.
“I can confirm that officials in my Department, including in the Consulate General in Munich, are aware of this case and are providing consular assistance,” he said.
“A dedicated consular officer in the Consulate has been assigned to Mr. Tatlow-Devally’s family, and they remain in close contact. The consular officer has provided support and advice to Mr. Tatlow-Devally and his family in accordance with the Department’s Consular Assistance Charter.
“I can further confirm that the Consul General in the Consulate General in Munich has carried out a consular visit to Mr. Tatlow-Devally. I wish to assure the Deputy that officials in my Department will continue to provide all appropriate consular assistance to the citizen.”
Tatlow-Devally, who is an Irish citizen resident in Berlin, has remained in pre-trial detention since September 9th, together with the 4 other suspects, who hold British, Spanish and German nationalities.
A press release from local prosecutors said that investigations remain against three to four further “as yet unknown suspects,” and apartments of suspects in Berlin have been searched.
Prosecutors say the alleged offence shows signs of an “extremist background”, and investigators are examining whether an extremist or terrorist motive was involved. Counter-terrorism officers are currently handling the inquiry.
According to authorities, the suspects allegedly broke the glass entrance door of the company building in the early hours of September 8th using tools they had brought with them to gain entry.
Once inside, they reportedly damaged several rooms and parts of the technical infrastructure with tools such as an axe, hatchet, crowbar and hammer. They are also accused of setting off smoke bombs outside the building and spraying graffiti with what police described as “suspected political content”.
According to local public broadcaster SWR, one suspect is also accused of narcotics offences. The same outlet quotes a spokesperson for the State Criminal Police Office as saying: “There is currently a lot to suggest a background from the leftwing extremist area. However, it is not yet possible to say with what focus.”
The material damage caused is currently estimated to be valued at about one million euro.
Last month, about 40 people protested outside the German embassy in Booterstown, Dublin “in solidarity” with Daniel Tatlow-Devally.
According to the Irish Times, friends, family, and pro-Gaza activists assembled outside the German embassy in Dublin at the end of October, with many wearing keffiyeh scarves and chanting slogans such as “Free, free the Ulm five” and “Saoirse don Phalaistín.”
The publication reported that family friend Lynne Tracey had claimed Tatlow-Devally was being held in a cell for 23 hours a day, saying: “I don’t understand how you can lock somebody up for 23 hours a day, including during meals, and allow just one 30-minute visit every two weeks, when all they were trying to do is save lives.”
She said she hoped the Irish Government would “put pressure, through the proper channels, to put them in more human circumstances”.
Local People Before Profit Councillor Melisa Halpin was also quoted as saying it was “completely outrageous” that “someone who was protesting genocide is being locked up, while the company that is delivering arms to murder and maim Palestinians is allowed to continue to operate.”