GERMAN CHANCELLOR FRIEDRICH Merz has denied that the trial of an Irish Palestine protester is a show trial and said the judiciary is independent.

Merz was asked about the case during a visit to Dublin today to meet with Taoiseach Micheál Martin as part of Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the EU.

Daniel Tatlow-Devally, 32, from Dublin, is one of five people on trial in Germany charged with criminal damage against Elbit Systems, a firm that supplies weapons systems to the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).

Last week, a cross-party delegation of TDs visited Germany to observe the proceedings and called for Ireland to send an independent legal observer for the rest of the trial. 

The cross-party delegation, which included People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett, Sinn Féin TD Mairéad Farrell, Labour TD Duncan Smith, Social Democrats Senator Patricia Stephenson, Fine Gael TD Barry Ward, Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan and People Before Profit TD Ruth Coppinger, raised concerns about the conditions Tatlow-Devally is being kept in.

They also raised concerns about the legal process -  in particular that no recording or transcription of the trial is being kept.

Asked about the accusation made by Fine Gael TD Barry Ward and People Before Profit’s Richard Boyd Barrett that the legal process amounts to a “show trial”, Merz said: 

“I want to comment on that very simply, to say we have a judicial process in Germany, consular assistance is being provided.

“The accused are being provided with a legal defence team and I have absolutely no doubt that regardless of any nationality, judicial processes in Germany are conducted according to internationally valid standards.

“There is no doubt about that.”

He added: “The German justice system is independent and is also obliged to follow legal standards, and there is no doubt that cases are handled according to those standards in Germany, regardless of the nationality of the accused.”

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the Irish government does not comment on live cases, but said consular assistance has been offered to Tatlow-Devally and his family. 

He said: “There’s been up to six visits to Daniel Tatlow Devally and a dedicated consular office in the Consulate General of Ireland in Munich has been assigned to support the citizen and their family, and, indeed, I think our consular officials were facilitative in respect of the recent Oireachtas, the parliamentary delegation, that went to visit and to be at the trial also.”

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Merz also spoke at length about the German government’s expectations for the EU budget and about his concern at a decline in enthusiasm for EU competitiveness in an eight-minute statement at the joint press conference.

Meanwhile, the Taoiseach expressed his “deepest condolences” for those killed and injured in the attack at Berlin Pride at the weekend.

“Pride celebrates important European values: inclusion, equality, respect,” he said, adding that such attacks should “not ever be tolerated”.

Today’s meeting between the Taoiseach and Merz comes during Ireland’s six-month presidency of the EU Council.

Martin said the engagement focused on “some of the biggest challenges” facing the bloc, including the ongoing wrangle between member states on the size of the EU’s long-term budget.

Germany is one of a number of nations pressing for a smaller settlement than the proposed two trillion euro spending plan.

With reporting from Press Association