Dec. 09--A Palestinian activist from Chicago who's been jailed in Detroit since her conviction last month of concealing her terrorist past in immigration papers can be released on a cash bond pending her sentencing hearing in March, a federal judge ruled Monday.
Rasmieh Yousef Odeh's supporters said Monday they were trying to raise $50,000 in cash to have her freed, including through an online fundraiser.
Hatem Abudayyeh, leader of the pro-Palestine group Committee to Stop FBI Repression, said in an email that the "hundreds of letters" written to the judge played a "major role" in the decision.
"Of course, we are going to appeal the conviction, and there is still a ton of organizing work to be done, but today we celebrate and prepare to bring (Odeh) home," Abudayyeh said.
A federal jury in Detroit convicted Odeh on Nov. 10 of one count of unlawful procurement of citizenship or naturalization, a charge that carries a maximum of 10 years in prison and possible deportation. After the conviction, U.S. District Judge Gershwin Drain ordered Odeh's bond revoked over the vehement objection of her lawyer.
In his five-page ruling Monday, Drain wrote that Odeh's "dedication to community work" as well as her strong ties to the Chicago area has led him to believe she does not pose a flight risk.
He noted, however, Odeh had "substantial disdain" for the court's previous orders and that a $50,000 cash bond would need to be posted before she could be released.
In a rally that was posted on YouTube while she was still free on bond, Odeh was seen pumping her fist as a crowd of supporters chanted her name. Shouting into a bullhorn, Odeh urged the crowd to keep fighting against injustice and said she was not afraid of being behind bars.
"They ask to lock me in. I don't mind," Odeh said. "I don't want you to feel weak. We are strong!"
An indictment unsealed in Detroit last year alleged that Odeh was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine when she was arrested in Israel and confessed to a 1969 supermarket bombing that killed two people and injured several others. Another bomb placed at the British Consulate in Jerusalem caused structural damage but no injuries, according to the indictment.
Odeh was sentenced to life in prison but was released as part of a prisoner exchange after serving 10 years. Her sentence was commuted.
Odeh immigrated to the U.S. in 1995 and omitted information about her arrest and conviction when she applied for a visa, the indictment alleged. Nine years later, Odeh again concealed her criminal background when she applied for and was granted U.S. citizenship, according to the charge.
Odeh, who lives in Evergreen Park, has since made a name for herself in Chicago's Palestinian community as a social activist and staunch defender of women's rights, supporters say.
In a 2004 documentary, "Women in Struggle," Odeh described in graphic detail her alleged treatment while in Israeli custody, saying she was stripped naked, beaten and humiliated.
"This increased my hatred against those who were responsible," the Jordan native said in the interview.
Odeh did not deny in the documentary that she had a role in the bombings but offered an explanation for her radicalism in her youth. She indicated that she never knew her father, saying he immigrated to the United States after the Israeli occupation and began to work and support her and her five siblings. Her mother used to tell her that her father would come back when Palestinians gained back their homeland, she said.
jmeisner@tribpub.com
