Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

PoliticalRepression

By staff

Protesters demand justice for Rasmea Odeh.

Chicago, IL – Lead defense attorney Michael Deutsch filed a brief, June 9, with the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, to appeal the conviction and sentencing of Palestinian community leader Rasmea Odeh.

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By staff

Milwaukee, WI – A coalition of Palestine Solidarity groups in the Milwaukee area will host an event in solidarity with Palestinian hero Rasmea Odeh. The live stream with Odeh's lawyer, Michael Deutsch, will take place at 6:00 p.m., June 11 at the People's Books Co-op, located at 804 E. Center Street in Milwaukee.

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By mick

Minneapolis, MN – Twin Cities activists will host a live stream event with long time Palestinian American leader Rasmea Odeh and her defense attorney Michael Deutsch, Thursday, June 11

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By Michela

Tampa, FL – The Committee to Stop FBI Repression-Tampa will hold a live stream legal update event on the case of Palestinian activist, Rasmea Odeh, June 11. Activists from around Tampa Bay will gather at 7:30 pm for the national live stream to hear Odeh and her lawyer, Michael Deutsch, speak on the appeal of her November 2014 conviction.

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By Cassia Laham

Fort Lauderdale, FL- On June 11, activists in the South Florida area will gather to watch Palestinian activist Rasmea Odeh speak about the status of her case and what to expect as her legal team files for an appeal. Odeh will be joined in this national live stream event by her lawyer, Michael Deutsch, who has made his mark in the legal community representing victims of government repression and state violence. The South Florida community has shown incredible support for Odeh throughout her trial, and this event will provide those supporters the opportunity to hear an import update on her legal case.

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By Meredith Aby

Minneapolis marks Al-Nakba, stands in solidarity with Palestine.

Minneapolis, MN – Over 50 protesters picketed in front of Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office, May 15, and then marched across 35W to the Minneapolis West Bank neighborhood to commemorate Al-Nakba, which means the catastrophe in Arabic.

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By staff

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

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By Conor Munro

Fort Lauderdale, FL – 20 anti-war activists gathered here, April 19, to watch and discuss Citizenfour, the critically acclaimed documentary. The movie tells the story of courageous National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden. In 2013, Snowden went into hiding and then revealed the shocking extent to which the U.S. government spies on people. Snowden also revealed the U.S. government is using illegal spying methods for the purpose of political repression.

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By National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following March 24 statement from the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera.

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By staff

March 12 Mpls protest in solidarity with Palestinian American leader Rasmea Odeh

Minneapolis, MN – 20 people gathered, March 12, on May Day Plaza with signs, banners and Palestinian flags to show solidarity with Palestinian American leader Rasmea Odeh. Earlier in the day, Odeh faced her sentencing hearing in Detroit, Michigan, the conclusion of a political trial where she was unjustly convicted of a trumped-up immigration charge. At the March 12 sentencing hearing, Odeh faced up to 10 years in prison and deportation. 200 of her supporters mobilized in Detroit to attend the sentencing hearing alongside Odeh, including dozens who made the long trip from Minnesota.

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By Alekos Zambrano

Protesters standing with Rasmea Odeh outside the Sam Gibbons Courthouse March 12

Tampa, FL – A small but passionate group of about 12 people gathered on the steps of the Sam Gibbons Federal Courthouse building here, March 12, to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian American leader Rasmea Odeh. The action coincided with the Detroit sentencing of Odeh on trumped-up immigration charges.

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By Tom Burke

Rasmea Odeh's sentencing hearing March 12 in Detroit

Detroit, MI — Palestinian American women’s leader Rasmea Odeh was welcomed with cheers as she walked out of court on March 12 into the arms of 200 supporters. The crowd chanted “Rasmea! Rasmea! Rasmea!”

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By Gage Lacharite

Tampa students stand up to FBI recruiters

Tampa, FL – On March 10, members of Tampa Students for a Democratic Society disrupted an FBI recruiting event at the University of South Florida (USF). The FBI claimed the event was part of Women's History Month, their goal being to recruit young women as agents of repression. The FBI continues to threaten important women leaders such as Assata Shakur, who is living in exile in Cuba. In the case of the Anti-war 23, many women anti-war leaders were spied upon for two years and then the FBI raided their homes, in a clear case of political repression.

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By staff

Minneapolis, MN – Hundreds of Black Lives Matter Minneapolis supporters gathered at the Hennepin County Courts, March 10, to stand in solidarity with the 11 defendants who are being targeted for political prosecution by the City of Bloomington and the Mall of America (MOA).

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By Joe Iosbaker

Chicago, IL – Rasmea Odeh celebrated International Women’s Day with over 125 supporters in Chicago, March 8. She appeared in strong spirits, as she prepares for her sentencing hearing in Detroit in just four days.

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By staff

Rasmea Odeh

Fight Back News is circulating Rasmea Odeh's March 8 speech at the Chicago International Women’s Day event.

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By Angela Y. Davis

For one hundred and six years working class and progressive men and women over the entire world have been marching and demanding equal rights for women on March 8. This is a cornerstone of the unity that we all know is required if we are to win the liberation of the people from exploitation, white supremacist racism, and grinding poverty that afflicts a fourth of the world’s people, according to the World Bank. It is outrageous that four days later, on March 12, 2015, in a Federal Court in Detroit Michigan, the U. S. Justice Department will be asking Judge Gershwin A. Drain to sentence Rasmea Odeh, a courageous activist for women’s rights and human rights, to five to seven years in prison, according to news reports. This is far beyond the federally recommended guidelines of 12-21 months.

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By staff

Black Lives Matter protest inside Mall of America.

Minneapolis – Over 115 researchers, professors and academics have signed a letter as of March 4 urging charges be dropped against protesters who are being prosecuted by Bloomington City Attorney Sandra Johnson for their attendance at Dec. 20 peaceful demonstration at the Mall of America.

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By staff

Fight Back News Service is circulating a speech that U.S. anti-war activist Joe Iosbaker delivered at a conference in Moscow, Feb. 24. The conference, called “Developments in Civil Society in Russia and the USA,” featured talks by several generations of anti-imperialist activists. A special guest was the Venezuelan Ambassador to Russia, Hoglys Martinez Nunez. U.S. imperialism and the war on Arabs and Muslims

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By Meredith Aby

Members of the Anti War Committee who organized the Rock for Rasmea event.

On Feb. 21, the MN Anti-War Committee (AWC) held Rock for Rasmea, a multimedia benefit show, to raise money for the legal defense of Palestinian activist Rasmea Odeh.

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