Minneapolis bannering part of National Week of Action to Defend Odeh

Minneapolis, MN – About 30 people gathered on May Day Plaza, in the West Bank neighborhood here to demand Justice for Palestinian American leader Rasmea Odeh, Sept. 10. Odeh is currently facing prison and deportation on a trumped-up immigration charge. Participants in the protest held signs supporting Odeh and Palestinian flags.

Denver, CO – Friends and supporters of U.S. political prisoner Simon Trinidad will demand “Free Simon Trinidad, Peace for Colombia” at a demonstration outside the Florence, Colorado supermax prison on Sept. 21, at 11:00 a.m. Trinidad is also known in Colombia by his given name, Ricardo Palmera.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following September 6 statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)

Fight Back News Service is circulating Rasmea Odeh’s speech to the historic August 29 march in Chicago for community control of the police. Fight Back! editors urge all of our readers to come to Cincinnati, Ohio on Oct. 14, when arguments on the appeal of her unjust conviction are heard in federal court. For more information go to Stopfbi.net. Stop police crimes

The Freedom Road Socialist Organization denounces the lies and exaggerations made by Major Marc Hamlin of the Tampa Police in an August 3, 2015 news article. We oppose police spying, police wrecking and political repression of the people's movements. It is outrageous that police claim they managed to “join” and “take over” activist groups at the protests against the Republican National Convention in 2012.

Salt Lake City, UT – Over 30 Rasmea Odeh supporters filled City Cakes, a bakery in Salt Lake City, on August 16 to raise money for Odeh’s legal defense. People came to donate and show solidarity with Rasmea Odeh, the Palestinian American women’s leader in Chicago. Odeh is preparing for an appeal that will take place in Cincinnati, Ohio later this fall.

Activists weighing lawsuit against cops

Tampa, FL – According to an August 3 report in the Tampa Bay Times, Major Marc Hamlin, the head of Special Operations for the Tampa Police Department, is boasting about the political spying carried out at the 2012 Republican National Convention.

Activists weighing lawsuit against cops

Tampa, FL – According to an August 3 report in the Tampa Bay Times, Major Marc Hamlin, the head of Special Operations for the Tampa Police Department, is boasting about the political spying carried out at the 2012 Republican National Convention.

Minneapolis, MN – Attorneys appeared in court, August 5, before Judge Peter Cahill for a status conference in the #BlackLivesMatter demonstration case. Notably, Bloomington Prosecutor Sandra Johnson has dropped all substantive trespassing charges against the alleged organizers of the Black Lives Matter demonstration. The move came on the heels of motions to dismiss that were filed by lead attorneys Jordan Kushner and Bruce Nestor, who are representing 10 of 11 individuals identified as ‘ringleaders’ of the Black Lives Matter gathering at the Mall of America last December.

San Salvador, El Salvador – On July 30 students marched here to commemorate the 40th anniversary of a massacre of Salvadoran students on July 30, 1975. The march started at the University of El Salvador (UES) and marched to the bridge where in 1975 the security forces and military violently repressed a peaceful protest where students were marching to demand their rights and to defend the UES. At that time the UES suffered from constant repression from the military and police.

Minneapolis, MN – Twin Cites supporters of Palestinian American leader Rasmea Odeh scored a major success here, July 29, collecting well over $1000 to help her defense effort. About 50 people came together for a “Happy Hour for Rasmea” organized by the Minnesota Committee to Stop FBI Repression. The funds will be used to help get people to Cincinnati, Ohio, where it is expected that the oral arguments on Odeh’s appeal will be heard in federal court this fall.

Chicago, IL – On July 20, Rasmea Odeh’s legal defense team filed a new brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, demolishing the July 8 arguments of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Tukel, who is opposing her bid for a new trial.

Washington, DC – The International Peoples’ Tribunal on Crimes Against the Filipino People (IPT) opened here July 16. 250 legal experts, witnesses of human rights violations, and social activists from the U.S., the Philippines and elsewhere came together. The mood in the hall was defiant, yet somber, as one after another survivor appeared before jurors to present the murders and torture committed against loved ones.

Chicago, IL – Federal prosecutor Jonathan Tukel filed a brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, July 8, opposing Rasmea Odeh’s move to overturn her conviction and sentencing on immigration charges. Tukel argues that the lower court was right to deny Odeh her full defense, including its decisions to bar the testimony of a torture expert, to restrict Rasmea’s own testimony, and to allow documents obtained via torture by the Israeli military.

Chicago, IL – 500 people gathered at the University of Illinois at Chicago campus, June 28, to support “Justice for Rasmea Odeh.”

Chicago, IL -500 people gathered at the University of Illinois at Chicago campus, June 28, to support “Justice for Rasmea Odeh.”

U.S. Social Forum – San Jose June 24-28

San Jose , CA – The U.S. Social Forum begins today, June 24, here in San Jose with a concurrent site in Philadelphia. The event is bringing together many different sections of the people’s movement under the slogan “Another World is Possible, Another System is Necessary.”

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.

Chicago, IL – Activists gathered at events around the country to hear Rasmea Odeh and defense attorney Michael Deutsch speak by videoconference, June 11. Deutsch explained the legal basis for Rasmea Odeh’s appeal, explaining that the trial and sentencing were both unfair. He also said while Rasmea Odeh is free now, that may come to a quick end in Cincinnati if the appeal is lost.

Tampa, FL – Palestinian activist Rasmea Odeh and her defense attorney Michael Deutsch spoke to activists here by live stream video, June 11. Deutsch explained Odeh’s case and upcoming legal appeal, with audience members asking questions. Florida activists plan to mobilize and attend the appeal hearing in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the fall.