Salt Lake City, UT – Protesters came together in Salt Lake City, March 12, just hours after Rasmea Odeh walked out of a courtroom in Detroit and greeted 200 cheering supporters. Odeh is out on bond pending the appeal of her conviction for an immigration fraud charge. Odeh’s sentence of 18 months in prison and deportation was put on hold.

Alyssa Ferris of the Utah Anti-War Committee read from a statement by Angela Davis, the well-known African American professor and former political prisoner, “Rasmea Odeh has been a naturalized U. S. citizen for over ten years. What is her crime? Her arrest and prosecution are politically motivated and are clearly designed to disrupt the Palestine human rights community.” Ferris went on to condemn the sentencing of Odeh to 18 months in prison.

Speaking about the unfair nature of the trail, Ferris said, “Judge Drain called Rasmea a terrorist and liar, but refused to let her even speak in her own defense. She was gagged even in speaking the truth of her horrible torture by the hands of the Israeli military.”

The crowd finished the rally chanting “From SLC to Palestine, solidarity is no crime.” The Utah Anti-war Committee called for the protest following the unjust conviction of Odeh last fall. The campaign to overturn the conviction is just beginning and organizers are planning to mobilize support for Odeh’s appeal process in Cincinnati, Ohio, where they hope for a new trial.

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