Houston, TX – Activists organized a number of activities to show solidarity with Rasmea Odeh, the unjustly convicted Palestinian activist. On Sept. 8, an information session was held, in which her case was discussed, with a turnout of over 20 people.

Many of them were students, and were outraged to find out that the prosecution did not allow her to present a full defense, and that the U.S. government has convicted a torture victim. They were shocked to find out that the prosecutor used evidence gained by an Israeli military court under torture as evidence against Odeh. At the event, beautiful handmade Palestinian flags were sold to raise funds, and attendees signed a letter of solidarity.

On Sept. 11, activists organized a protest outside of the Mickey Leland Federal Building, which drew people from a variety of organizations, including the New Black Panther Party, the Brown Berets, Workers World Party, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and BDS Houston.

They marched around the federal building multiple times, which was being guarded by a swarm of about 20 Homeland Security cops. As they marched, they chanted, “Free, free Rasmea now, free her now or we'll shut it down!” and “Free, free Palestine, occupation is a crime.”

Adam Gann, with the IWW, said, “It’s an outrage that a leader in the Arab American community who received multiple awards for her activism is being treated this way. It is clear that they are using immigration as a pretext to target her because she is a Palestinian. Silencing Rasmea is a tactic of imperialism to harm the Palestinian liberation movement and strengthen the state of Israel.”

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