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.

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!”

Tampa, FL – Freedom Road Socialist Organization hosted a discussion panel for International Women's Day, March 8, at the First United Church of Tampa. Groups that spoke at the event included the local immigrant rights group Raices en Tampa and the Committee to Stop FBI Repression-Tampa.

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.

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

Minneapolis, MN – About 40 people came together here, March 8, to celebrate International Women’s Day. The program included speakers from the trade union, welfare rights, student and anti-war movements.

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.

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

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.

Chicago, IL – Defense attorneys for Rasmea Odeh, Chicago’s 68-year-old Palestinian community leader, filed a ‘sentencing memorandum’ in a Detroit federal court, Feb. 25, arguing that Odeh “should not be sentenced to further imprisonment” following her conviction in November 2014 on a single charge of Unlawful Procurement of Naturalization.

Tampa, FL – A group of 50 people gathered at the First United Church of Tampa for a panel discussion, “State Repression and the War on Terror.” Speakers focused on the U.S. government targeting of Arab-Americans, Muslims and anti-war activists for political repression.

New York, NY – Over 35 people gathered at the historic Riverside Church in Harlem, Feb. 13 to show solidarity with Rasmea Odeh. Odeh is a 68-year-old Arab American Chicago community organizer and women’s leader. She faces sentencing for an immigration violation in Detroit on March 12. The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. prosecutors singled her out because of her political views and activity opposing wars and military occupations.

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.

Tucson, AZ – People gathered Feb. 15 at a local radical bookstore and café to watch and listen to the inspiring words of Rasmea Odeh by video conference. The 67-year-old Arab American woman faces the possibility of a 10-year prison sentence, loss of citizenship and deportation. Odeh spoke of the importance of organizing resistance to the political agenda that criminalizes activism.

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.

Protest vigil and live stream speaking event planned for Feb. 13

Minneapolis, MN – Protests, speaking events and fundraisers are being organized across the U.S. as part of the growing national movement to win justice for Rasmea Odeh. Two events will take place in the Twin Cities on Friday, Feb. 13. First is the weekly Palestine Solidarity Vigil to Demand Justice for Rasmea, 4:30 to 5:30 at the intersection of Summit and Snelling Avenues in Saint Paul, followed by a speech by Rasmea Odeh, via live stream, which will be at the center of an event running from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at 4200 Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis.

Minneapolis, MN – Organizers of the Feb. 9 through 15 national week of actions to defend Palestinian American leader Rasmea Odeh say that activists in cities across the U.S. are committing to take action and momentum around the case is growing. Odeh was convicted of trumped-up immigration charges last year, and is facing up to 10 years of prison and deportation at her sentencing in Detroit, March 12.

Chicago, IL – Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) Chicago Network is hosting a fundraiser Feb. 3 to celebrate the resilience of Rasmea Odeh. The event, at 8:00 p.m. at DePaul University, will include dinner, a comedy performance from Amer Zahr, spoken word and dance performances and a speech from a representative of the Rasmea Defense Committee. All proceeds from the fundraiser will go to Odeh’s legal defense fund.

Chicago, IL – Organizers of the nationwide effort to get justice for longtime Palestinian American leader Rasmea Odeh are urging an all-out mobilization for Odeh’s sentencing in Detroit Federal Court on the morning of March 12. Odeh is facing deportation and up to ten years in jail on a trumped-up immigration charge.

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