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.

Anti-war, Palestine solidarity and civil liberty activists gathered for the videoconference in New York, Albuquerque, Dallas, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Spokane, Tampa and Tucson and other locations.

Sarah Martin, of the Minnesota Committee to Stop FBI Repression, told those in attendance at the Twin Cities event that it was necessary to shine a light on the injustice that is being done to Odeh and that a broad mobilization is needed to defend her. Martin is one of the 23 anti-war and international solidarity activists targeted in the same investigation that led to the arrest of Odeh.

Rasmea Odeh is a 68-year-old icon for Arab American women. She was tortured and imprisoned by the occupying Israeli military in 1969 and targeted for political repression in 2013 by the U.S. government.

In a Detroit court, Odeh was gagged from speaking about the Israeli military torture. Attorney Deutsch was not allowed to raise a defense based on her suffering from PTSD, and therefore could not present an expert witness. With no chance of a fair trial, Odeh was found guilty.

Outrageously, the judge in the case went beyond the sentencing guidelines given the minor immigration charges against her. Odeh was sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by deportation. She is currently at home in Chicago preparing her appeal.

The appeal oral arguments are expected to take in Cincinnati, Ohio at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. Many groups and activists from around the country are planning to go to Cincinnati and stand in solidarity with Rasmea, most likely in September.

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According to anti-war activist Pamela Maldonado, a lead organizer with People’s Opposition to War, Imperialism, and Racism (POWIR), all members of the South Florida pro-Palestine and pro-justice community should attend. “We want the dedicated South Florida community to keep up the support for this incredible fighter for justice. They will have the opportunity to ask Michael Deutsch and Rasmea Odeh questions and find out what else we, her supporters, can do to support her appeal and to keep Rasmea free.”

Odeh is a 68-year-old Palestinian American leader who is facing 18 months in prison followed by deportation. Odeh was born in occupied Palestine and, like many Palestinians, organized to oppose Israeli injustices against her people. Because of her activism, Odeh was jailed and tortured in an Israeli prison for ten years before moving to the U.S. While here, she has helped lead the Arab American Action Network in the Chicago community for over two decades.

Two years ago, however, she was arrested part of a wave of political arrests and grand jury subpoenas against people’s movements in the U.S. They arrested her on charges of immigration fraud and then proceeded to put on a sham trail where Odeh was denied her best defense and found guilty.

As Odeh and her legal team work on her appeal, it is up to her supporters to continue to keep this case alive in public discourse, to continue to publicly support this courageous woman and to take action on her behalf.

“We have seen what people power has been able to accomplish in her trial – the shortened sentence and the popular support she now has—and so we know our work on the ground is important,” Maldonado said. “We know victory takes people coming together and taking a stand against injustice!”

Face Book on the event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1597604233812127/

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Chicago, IL – Michael Deutsch of the National Lawyers Guild and the People’s Law Office spoke Nov. 12 about the case of Rasmea Yousef Odeh, a 65-year-old, Palestinian American, women's rights activist who was recently indicted and tomorrow faces arraignment Nov. 13 in U.S. District Court in Detroit. The immigration charge against Odeh could result in ten years in prison and deportation for violations in her application for citizenship.

Deutsch said the situation, “appears to be the Department of Homeland Security behaving in a discriminatory fashion, targeting Arabs, Muslims and Palestinians for selective prosecution.”

He recounted the history since 9/11 of the singling out of these communities by the U.S. government, especially in Chicago, including the case of Dr. Muhammad Salah, who the U.S. Attorney prosecuted for aiding people living under Israeli occupation. Salah’s trial featured Israeli agents testifying in secret with evidence obtained through torture.

Deutsch described the case of the 23 anti-war and international solidarity activists whose homes were raided and who were subpoenaed by the U.S. Attorney in 2010 for their efforts in support of Palestinians. The U.S. Attorney refuses to end this investigation. “The investigation of Rasmea Odeh seems to grow out of the case of the 23, because her colleague at the Arab American Action Network, Hatem Abudayyeh, was one of those raided and subpoenaed.”

From these experiences, Deutsch stated, “We know that the U.S. government works closely with Israeli officials, and therefore it is a certainty that the U.S. government knew of Odeh’s legal history at the time she emigrated and at the time she applied for citizenship. Why then is she being charged now after 20 years of model citizenship and good deeds in service of her community?”

Deutsch also cited a report by the ACLU from August of this year, “Muslims Need Not Apply,” which exposes the “Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program” of the Immigration Services. “This program targets Muslim, Arab, Middle Eastern and South Asian immigrants to deny them their requests for citizenship,” explained Deutsch.

These examples together were the basis of his statements of concern about discriminatory, selective prosecution.

Hatem Abudayyeh – a co-worker of Rasmea Odeh for almost ten years and who also represented the U.S. Palestinian Community Network and the Committee Against Political Repression – reminded everyone that Odeh was born in the same exact year that her people were pushed out of Palestine in 1948 and, because of that experience, she has dedicated her whole life to social justice. She is a mentor to dozens of activists and organizers across the country and leads a women's rights organization of over 600 members.

Abudayyeh also said that Odeh is receiving massive support from all across the world, including almost 100 organizations in the U.S. that have written letters or signed onto statements condemning the indictment.

“We are taking a charter bus and a car caravan to be with Rasmea tomorrow at her arraignment in Detroit. Hundreds from Michigan will meet us there. And hundreds more in Gainesville, Philadelphia, D.C., New York, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Salt Lake City and other towns across the U.S. will be rallying in support of Rasmea and to demand that U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade drop the charges now.”

Margaret Jackson, interim Regional Director of the American Friends Service Committee, spoke against the racism of the U.S. government for this political attack on a Palestinian woman and stated, “As a person of color, I can tell you I’ve experienced racism in this society.” To show her support of the human rights work that Rasmea has done in Chicago, she declared, “I’m proud to stand with Rasmea Odeh.”

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