Rasmea Odeh

DETROIT — The judge in the case of Palestinian American community leader, Rasmea Odeh, denied defense motions for retrial and canceling the verdict of her conviction.

Odeh, 67, is set to appear in a Detroit federal court for sentencing on March 12, after she was convicted of unlawful procurement of naturalization in November.

On Feb. 13, 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 alleged legal errors in the court’s rulings in her trial; another called for the judge to set aside the jury’s decision altogether.

“Since both defense motions challenged how Drain conducted the trial, it came as no surprise when he ruled against Rasmea, and in support of his own decisions,” said Hatem Abudayyeh of the Rasmea Defense Committee. “We know that the conviction was a travesty of justice, and that Judge Drain’s rulings made it impossible for the jury to give Rasmea a fair shake. She survived brutal torture by the Israelis, but the jury never got to hear that.”

Odeh’s attorneys are asking Drain to take her age and poor health into consideration and be lenient in his sentencing, but also plan to appeal her conviction. The defense will request the granting of an appeal bond no matter the sentence, which could be up to 10 years in prison, heavy fines, and deportation. 

Community leaders and civil rights activists have been sending letters to the judge requesting a lenient sentence on the 67-year-old activist.

“We will not give up in our defense and support of Rasmea as she moves forward to challenge this unjust conviction,” said Jess Sundin of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression. “She was prosecuted by the U.S. government because she is Palestinian, and because for decades, she has organized for Palestinian liberation and self-determination.”   

Odeh’s supporters, who protested in front of the federal courthouse in Detroit throughout the trial plan to pack the court room on March 12.