Detroit, MI – Supporters of long-time Palestinian American leader Rasmea Odeh are planning a protest here at the Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse, 231 W Lafayette Blvd, Nov. 14, at 1:30 p.m., to demand her immediate release from jail.

On Nov. 10, in what supporters describe as a travesty of justice, Rasmea Odeh was found guilty of unlawful procurement of naturalization. Rasmea, a beloved community leader, was accused of lying on her US.. naturalization application a decade ago about whether she had ever been convicted of a crime – but was not allowed to present evidence of the torture and sexual abuse she endured in Israeli prison until she was forced to confess to a crime she never committed, or her resulting PTSD.

“The targeting of Rasmea was a politically-motivated attack on Palestinian activists, on Muslim Americans, on women and on our community as a whole, and her trial was never meant to be fair,” said Zena Ozeir of the Detroit Rasmea Defense Committee.

Although the verdict is in and the judge has ordered that Odeh be locked up in the Saint Clair County Jail until sentencing on March 10, 2015, her supporters say this fight isn't over. They say 67-year-old Rasmea Odeh poses no threat and there is no reason for her to be kept in jail until sentencing.

The Detroit protest is part of a National Week of Actions demanding Rasmea’s release. Protests are being held in many other cities, including Oakland, California, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, New York and Tampa. For more information on Rasmea Odeh’s case, visit uspcn.org or stopfbi.net.

Organizations sponsoring the Detroit protest include Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) UM-Dearborn, SJP Wayne State University, Students Allied for Freedom and Equality (SAFE), Z Collective, U.S. Palestinian Community Network, Wayne State Law Middle Eastern Student Association and Jewish Voice for Peace-Detroit.

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