Chicago, IL – Internationally recognized experts on the effects of torture are weighing in on the appeal of prominent Palestinian American activist Rasmea Odeh, who is challenging her unjust November 2014 conviction on an immigration charge. Odeh, who was tortured and raped in an Israeli prison, was denied the right to present a meaningful defense in her Detroit trial last year.

Detroit, MI – Chicago’s 68-year-old Palestinian community leader, Rasmea Odeh, is set to appear in a Detroit federal court for sentencing on March 12, following her conviction on a single charge of Unlawful Procurement of Naturalization. On Feb. 13 Federal District Judge Gershwin Drain issued an order denying two motions by Odeh’s defense team. One motion called for a new trial because of a number of legal errors in the court’s rulings in her November trial. Another called for the judge to set aside the jury’s decision altogether.

Tampa, FL – On Feb. 13 the Committee to Stop FBI Repression-Tampa held a sign-holding in support of Rasmea Odeh during the National Week of Action to Defend Rasmea Odeh.

Tucson, AZ – Over a dozen activists rallied in solidarity with Rasmea Odeh outside the Federal Courthouse in front of busy Tucson traffic on Nov. 18. Amid the presence of Border Patrol, sheriffs and federal police, the group stood firm and chanted, “Free Rasmea now!” Odeh is a 67-year-old Palestinian American community organizer from Chicago who is now in Saint Clair County jail in Michigan.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Nov. 18 statement from the Rasmea Defense Committee.