Rasmea
Defense Committee statement
Report
on Trial Day 4:
Rasmea & her defense finish strong
on last day of trial!
On
the coldest morning all week, supporters gathered early outside the federal
courthouse in Detroit on the final day of the trial for Rasmea Odeh. Each day
of the trial, security officers have closed the main courtroom before it was
full. Today, supporters squeezed into the seats early, ensuring no one would
miss the chance to stick by the beloved Palestinian community icon, on trial for
allegedly gaining U.S. citizenship unlawfully because of answers she gave on her
naturalization documents. In an unnecessary attempt at intimidation, a number
of U.S. Marshals and Department of Homeland Security agents were seated in front
of friends and family of Rasmea, including close to twenty members of the Arab
Women’s Committee that she founded in Chicago.
The morning began with a
defense motion for a “directed verdict”—which basically asked the judge to throw
out the case against Rasmea because the government failed to prove that Rasmea
“knowingly lied” at any point in the immigration process. Judge Gershwin Drain
denied the motion, and Rasmea took the stand to continue her
testimony.
There was a palpable tension when U.S. Attorney Jonathan Tukel
rose to begin his cross-examination. For more than half an hour, he tried to
trip Rasmea up with questions, asking the same ones repeatedly, and often
interrupting her, prompting Judge Drain to admonish him at least twice. In
spite of this, Rasmea remained calm and clear, frustrating Tukel’s attempt to
undermine her credibility or trap her into misspeaking. As a survivor of
vicious Israeli physical and sexual torture, her legendary strength was in full
effect in the courtroom.
Throughout the trial, Rasmea’s defense has been
hindered by countless unjust rulings from Judge Drain, including his refusal to
allow evidence about either the torture that forced Rasmea into a confession and
a 10-year sentence as a political prisoner, or the chronic Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD) that caused her to block out that time in her life when she
answered the questions on the naturalization form.
Nevertheless, her
attorneys put on a strong show, explaining that Rasmea never knowingly gave
false information. Her initial immigrant visa application was completed by her
brother, because Rasmea could not read or write in English at the time. The
naturalization form she filled out 10 years later was unclear and the questions
at issue were easily misunderstood. And in Rasmea’s citizenship interview, no
one had ever asked her about arrests or convictions in other
countries.
While we are hopeful this legal defense is enough to win over
the jury, we also know that the government’s case, an immigration charge, is
nothing but a pretext. Rasmea is under attack because she is Palestinian, Arab,
and Muslim; because U.S. law enforcement is going after our successful Boycott
Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israeli apartheid; and because she
embodies the proud and steadfast Palestinian struggle for self-determination,
liberation, and the Right of Return.
As the jury begins deliberations on
Monday, Rasmea’s supporters will be there as well, to hear the verdict and to
rally with her. Join us at 8 AM Eastern Standard Time at the federal courthouse
in downtown Detroit, 231 W. Lafayette Blvd. Another large delegation of
Chicagoans are returning to Rasmea’s side after the weekend, emboldened by her
thank you speech after the trial: “I [tried] to be…strong and to [re]present the
Palestinians and every one of you here in a strong way. It's very important
Monday [for] all of us here to say ‘yes, we are together, and we are fight[ing]
for our rights.”
Stay tuned to uspcn.org and stopfbi.net for more
information about transportation from Chicago and other
cities.
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