Tucson, AZ – On Wednesday evening a dozen activists protested outside the Federal Building and Tucson City Hall to demand the charges against 65 year-old Palestinian activist Rasmea Odeh be dropped.

As part of a November 13 national day of action in support of Odeh, signs reading “Stop FBI Attacks on Activists”, “I Support Palestine, Women, and Rasmea”, and “Free Rasmea Now!” were held high and passersby greeted the protest with honks and fists raised in solidarity.

In an effort to spread the urgency of solidarity to everyone possible, organizers handed out leaflets explaining the outrageous arrest and prosecution of Odeh. The leaflets also praise the veteran leader’s life long dedication to equality and liberation. Pedestrians and passing drivers stopped for the fliers that also lay out an action plan for mobilizing against the charges and asking people to sign a petition, with more info at www.StopFBI.net.

Having been arrested on October 22, 2013 and currently facing a ten-year prison sentence or deportation for supposed “immigration fraud,” Odeh is the latest target of U.S. government political repression of pro-Palestinian activists. Starting in 2001, thousands of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim men were rounded up and deported by the Bush administration. More recent are the widely reported FBI raids of 23 anti-war activists’ houses and workplaces on September 24, 2010, under President Obama, with an investigation still “ongoing”.

Associate director of the Arab American Action Network and the leader of its Arab Women’s Committee, Odeh is a renowned defender of immigrant and women’s rights whose arrest and trial has caught the attention of progressives across the country. Tucson activists proudly showed up to do their part and encourage others to join the struggle to free Rasmea. Organizers vowed to return for a bigger rally on the first day of Rasmea Odeh’s trial in Detroit.

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