CCR joined the National Lawyers Guild, Jewish Voice for Peace, Palestine Solidarity Legal Support, National Students for Justice in Palestine, and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in sending a letter on November 20, 2014 to request that the trial court reconsider its denial of bond pending sentencing in Rasmea Odeh’s case.  The letter was submitted as an exhibit attached to a motion for leave to file an amicus brief in the case.

Rasmea Odeh is a Palestinian-American community activist who has dedicated years to the Chicago Arab-American community, working with women on issues ranging from promoting literacy and political education to addressing domestic violence and anti-Arab and Muslim sentiment.  Following a government investigation into Palestinian solidarity activists in the Chicago area beginning in 2010, Rasmea was arrested on a charge of unlawful procurement of naturalization for an answer she gave on an application submitted nearly a decade ago.  Rasmea was convicted of the charge earlier this month.

Over 40 years ago, Rasmea was arrested by Israeli soldiers, brutally tortured, and coerced into signing a confession, for which she served 10 years in prison.  Her attorneys argued that her conviction was achieved through torture and should not be accepted by a U.S. court that holds to standards of due process.  Despite the fact that the judge found her allegations of torture at the hands of the Israeli military to be credible, he did not allow the jury to hear about her experience.

CCR joined other rights groups in signing on to a solidarity statement in support of Rasmea Odeh in October 2013.  You can read the letter sent to the court here.