Free the Ulm5, Free the Filton24 | BB

I’m honoured to be joined this month by Josey from the Ulm 5 Solidarity Network and Roser from Palestine on Trial, both reporting back from a chaotic first week in court for the Ulm 5. We will also get an update from the latest in the trial of the Filton 24 happening in London.

What's this all about? Two groups of people are accused of breaking into factories in Bristol, England, and Ulm, Germany, belonging to the private defence contractor Elbit Systems, which produces roughly 85 percent of the combat drones and land-based equipment used by the Israeli army in their ongoing genocide. Where does this choice to take direct action against that which is intolerable come from, and how do states respond? Our conversation will unpick the legal jargon, explain what happens in court, and look at the extraordinary levels of political interference involved in the prosecution of these cases, from the lengths the British government has gone to deny a fair trial to the Filton 24, including forcing a retrial for the first six defendants which is ongoing, to the attempts of activist lawyers supporting the Ulm 5 to turn the tables on the German state as their trial begins. We will touch on the absurdities, the solidarities, and intricate, unrelenting, too often invisible organising that is involved in prisoner support from the outside, especially when those incarcerated are your friends and loved ones. We will of course also play some banging tunes including selections from co-defendants and their comrades! Both cases sit at the heart of the battle to expose Britain’s and Germany’s complicity in genocide and their outcomes will have repercussions for the fundamental right to protest injustice. This one deserves your close attention. Tune in.