Justice for Rasmea Odeh
Dear Member of U.S. Congress,
As a constituent, I am writing to express my concern about the case of Palestinian American Rasmea Odeh: www.justice4rasmea.org. After Ms. Odeh's successful appeal of a 2014 conviction, the U.S. Attorney's office in the Eastern District of Michigan is preparing for a second trial on a charge of Unlawful Procurement of Naturalization. I want to explain why this is a travesty of justice.
Ms. Odeh entered the United States in 1994 to care for her ailing father in Michigan, and subsequently built a life for herself in Chicago. Since 2004, she has been recognized for her exemplary service to the community as the leader of the Arab Women's Committee at the Arab American Action Network, where she provides tremendous support to hundreds of immigrant and refugee women. In 2013, she received the Outstanding Community Leader award from the Chicago Cultural Alliance.
This case is especially important to those of us who are advocates for survivors of sexual violence and women's rights, because Ms. Odeh's defense hinges on the fact that she was subjected to violent rape and torture at the hands of Israeli authorities during her imprisonment, coerced confession, and unlawful conviction in her home city of Jerusalem in 1969 and 1970. The fact of her torture is a matter of public record, and even the government's experts affirm that as a result of that torture, Ms. Odeh lives with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Our country has a proud tradition of welcoming those that have suffered political repression from all over the world, and Ms. Odeh's case demonstrates the importance of continuing that tradition.
Further proceeding with the prosecution of this beloved community leader and survivor of torture and rape also risks sending a troubling message to the broader community. Caught in the crosshairs of the recent elections and a rising tide of hate crimes, Arab Americans and American Muslims will see the continued prosecution of Ms. Odeh as cruel persecution by a government that is unwilling to ensure them the basic protections guaranteed to citizens of this country.
I hope you agree that re-trying this case is a wasteful use of our taxpayer resources. I respectfully ask you to immediately raise your own concerns- to U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade-about the case against Rasmea Odeh.
As a constituent, I am writing to express my concern about the case of Palestinian American Rasmea Odeh: www.justice4rasmea.org. After Ms. Odeh's successful appeal of a 2014 conviction, the U.S. Attorney's office in the Eastern District of Michigan is preparing for a second trial on a charge of Unlawful Procurement of Naturalization. I want to explain why this is a travesty of justice.
Ms. Odeh entered the United States in 1994 to care for her ailing father in Michigan, and subsequently built a life for herself in Chicago. Since 2004, she has been recognized for her exemplary service to the community as the leader of the Arab Women's Committee at the Arab American Action Network, where she provides tremendous support to hundreds of immigrant and refugee women. In 2013, she received the Outstanding Community Leader award from the Chicago Cultural Alliance.
This case is especially important to those of us who are advocates for survivors of sexual violence and women's rights, because Ms. Odeh's defense hinges on the fact that she was subjected to violent rape and torture at the hands of Israeli authorities during her imprisonment, coerced confession, and unlawful conviction in her home city of Jerusalem in 1969 and 1970. The fact of her torture is a matter of public record, and even the government's experts affirm that as a result of that torture, Ms. Odeh lives with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Our country has a proud tradition of welcoming those that have suffered political repression from all over the world, and Ms. Odeh's case demonstrates the importance of continuing that tradition.
Further proceeding with the prosecution of this beloved community leader and survivor of torture and rape also risks sending a troubling message to the broader community. Caught in the crosshairs of the recent elections and a rising tide of hate crimes, Arab Americans and American Muslims will see the continued prosecution of Ms. Odeh as cruel persecution by a government that is unwilling to ensure them the basic protections guaranteed to citizens of this country.
I hope you agree that re-trying this case is a wasteful use of our taxpayer resources. I respectfully ask you to immediately raise your own concerns- to U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade-about the case against Rasmea Odeh.
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