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Rasmea Odeh

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Rasmea Yousef Odeh
Born1947/1948 (age 76–77)[1]
Lifta, British Mandate Palestine[2]
NationalityJordanian
Other namesRasmea Yousef, Rasmieh Steve, Rasmieh Joseph Steve, Rasmieh Odeh, Rasmieh Yousef Odeh
Occupation(s)Associate director of the Arab American Action Network, Chicago, Illinois
Conviction(s)a) Yes (life sentence)
(b) 18 months in federal prison, stripping of US citizenship, and deportation from US to Jordan, once she has served her sentence, conviction was vacated by the appellate court.
Criminal chargea) Involvement in two terrorist bombings in Jerusalem, including a fatal one;
b) Immigration fraud
Details
CountryIsrael
Target(s)Jerusalem supermarket and British Consulate
Killed2
Injured9
WeaponsBombs
Imprisoned atSentenced to life imprisonment, served ten years in Israel
In custody November 10 – December 11, 2014, in Michigan, but freed on bond pending sentencing; sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on March 12, 2015.

Rasmea Yousef Odeh (in Arabic رسمية يوسف عودة; born 1947/1948), also known as Rasmea Yousef, Rasmieh Steve, and Rasmieh Joseph Steve,[3] is a Palestinian Jordanian and former American citizen who was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) convicted by Israeli military courts for involvement in the 1969 Jerusalem supermarket bombing, resulting in the killing of two young civilians. Odeh claimed that the confessions were obtained under torture, and that the charges were political. She was sentenced to life in prison in Israel and spent 10 years in prison before she was released in a prisoner exchange with the PFLP in 1980.[4] After her release to Jordan, she immigrated in 1990 to the United States, became a U.S. citizen, and served as associate director at the Arab American Action Network in Chicago, Illinois.[2][5][6][7][8][9]

In 2014, Odeh was convicted of immigration fraud by a jury in federal court in Detroit for concealing her arrest and conviction by military court in Israel.[10][11] Odeh's counsel maintained she did not receive a "full and fair trial" because the judge ruled as irrelevant her testimony that her 1969 confession in Israel had been extracted by torture.[12][13] In 2015, a federal judge denied Odeh's request to either overturn the conviction or grant a new trial, ruling that her argument lacked legal merit, based on evidence of her fraudulent citizenship application and the fact that the jurors "clearly did not believe [her] explanation", while "the evidence was more than sufficient to support the jury's verdict."[14][15] Odeh was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison in March 2015, stripped of her US citizenship, and set for deportation to Jordan after serving her time.[16][17][18][19] Her conviction was vacated by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals and sent back to the District Court in February 2016.[20] In April 2017 she pleaded guilty to failing to disclose her previous conviction on her citizenship application. As part of the plea agreement she was deported without serving jail time.[21]

Conviction and imprisonment by Israel

Originally from Lifta,[2] Odeh was arrested in March 1969, and in 1970 was convicted and sentenced by an Israeli military court to life in prison for her involvement in two terrorist bombings in Jerusalem and involvement in an illegal organization, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).[6][7][8][22][23][24] Odeh alleged that her trial and imprisonment were a case of political detention, and claimed to have suffered torture and rape. The allegations were publicized as early as 1975 as her case was documented by lawyer Felicia Langer in Israel. Allegations that prison authorities tortured Odeh were also aired in 1979 by the Sunday Times special investigation team and came out in a special booklet.[12] She alleges that, while undergoing torture, her father was brought into the room, she was stripped and he was asked to have intercourse with her, at which he fainted. It was this, she claims, that led her to make the confession used as state's evidence in her trial.[25]

Although Odeh's legal representation disputes the veracity of her confession to these crimes, based on her allegation that it was obtained after torture by the Israeli military,[13] according to American federal prosecutors the Israeli investigators had found "extensive bomb-making materials and explosives" and "explosive bricks in her room".[26] According to Lis Harris, the trial was a sham, since she was not permitted to speak of torture, and an expert's testimony was disallowed.[25] The Chicago Tribune reports that in the documentary, Women in Struggle, which was made before her indictment for concealing her arrest, Odeh made no denial that she had a role in the bombings.[5] The video also includes an interview with Aisha Odeh, who was also charged in the case, in which she describes the role Rasmea Odeh played in the bombing; federal prosecutors stated that this version of events corresponds "precisely" with Rasmea Odeh's statement to Israeli authorities on her involvement.[citation needed] It was also pointed out that an observer from the International Committee of the Red Cross had attended her entire trial and stated that in his opinion, it had been a fair trial.[27]

Odeh's primary claim of torture was that her father, Yousef Odeh, who was arrested at the same time as her, was allegedly forced to attempt to rape her on the day of their arrest. Nine days after their arrest, an American consular official visited Yousef Odeh, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, while he was in custody to check on his condition. After their meeting, the official reported back to Washington that Yousef Odeh complained of "uncomfortable, overcrowded" conditions, but was otherwise receiving "no worse than standard treatment." Yousef Odeh did not report any claims of the mistreatment and torture that Rasmea Odeh would later allege.[citation needed]

One of the bombings killed 21-year-old Leon Kanner of Netanya and 22-year-old Eddie Joffe of a Tel Aviv suburb, on February 21, 1969. The two were killed by a bomb that was placed in a crowded Jerusalem SuperSol supermarket which the two students stopped in at to buy groceries for a field trip.[6][7][8][22][23][24][28] The same bomb wounded nine others.[24] A second bomb found at the supermarket was defused.[28] Odeh was also convicted of bombing and damaging the British Consulate four days later.[5][23][29][30] Israeli authorities said the bombings were the work of the PFLP, which claimed credit for the bombings.[28][31]

In 1980, Odeh was among 78 prisoners released by Israel in an exchange with the PFLP for one Israeli soldier captured in Lebanon.[7][8][31] Odeh's lawyer stated she testified at the United Nations about being tortured.[13] In a 1980 interview she confessed to participating in two bombings with PFLP, though says the intent was not to hurt anyone.[32]

Entry into US; application for citizenship

In 1995, Odeh entered the United States from Jordan.[7][33] At the time, according to her later federal indictment, she stated she had no criminal record.[34][35] The U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Michigan said: "An individual convicted of a terrorist bombing would not be admitted to the United States if that information was known at the time of arrival."[23] In 2004, Odeh applied to become a United States citizen.[6] According to her indictment, on her immigration forms, she again answered "no" as to whether she had received any criminal convictions or served any time in prison; her defense attorneys claimed that she understood the form to be referring to her time in the United States.[6][34]

Jennifer Williams, the Detroit immigration officer who interviewed Odeh in 2004, testified that she makes a point of clarifying to applicants that the question applies to convictions "anywhere in the world."[36] Odeh would later testify that Williams had not done so in her case.[36] Odeh was sworn in as a naturalized US citizen under the name "Rasmieh Joseph Steve" on December 9, 2004.[6][7][24] She initially lived in Jackson, Michigan.[37]

She appeared in the 2004 documentary Women in Struggle by Buthina Canaan Khoury, about four Palestinian women imprisoned in Israeli jails, which her opponents say provide evidence of her involvement in the bombings, as her co-conspirator Aisha Odeh freely implicated Rasmea Odeh in the bombing.[38] She became associate director of the Arab American Action Network in Chicago.[6]

Conviction for immigration fraud in the US

Odeh was indicted on October 17, 2013, for concealing her arrest, conviction, and imprisonment in her application, and for lying as to where she had lived previously. She was arrested five days later at her home in Evergreen Park, Illinois, in the Chicago area.[7][22][30]

In May 2014, Odeh rejected a pre-trial offer from federal prosecutors that would have limited any prison sentence to a maximum of six months and, after that, allowed her to remain free (for a maximum of six months) until her deportation. She said she felt it was not in her best interest, and preferred the case to go to trial.[33]

In August 2014, the first judge assigned to the case, federal district court Judge Paul Borman, recused himself after he learned that his family was part owners in the supermarket that had been bombed in 1969. He stated that his financial ties "could be perceived as establishing a reasonably objective inference of a lack of impartiality in the context of the issues presented in this case."[39] Odeh's lawyers had earlier requested that he step down because he had received an award from the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit for supporting Israel, that his family had fundraised for a pro-Israeli charity, and that he had made many trips to Israel. He said that Odeh's lawyers were engaged in "careless and rank speculation" for suggesting that he could not be impartial in the case, stating that "a judge’s prior activities relating to his religious convictions are not a valid basis for questioning his impartiality in a particular case". He noted that some of the material brought forward applied to his cousin rather than himself.[40]

Judge Gershwin A. Drain

Odeh was tried in November 2014 for immigration fraud before a federal jury in Detroit, Michigan, with Judge Gershwin A. Drain presiding.[6][7][8] She was accused of concealing her 1969–70 arrest, conviction, and imprisonment when she filed US immigration papers.[6][7][33] Odeh was also accused of lying in her immigration papers about her prior residency, falsely claiming that she had lived only in Jordan from 1948 until her application.[41]

Before trial, her defense argued that Odeh had been tortured while in prison, and suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder. Judge Drain ruled that evidence on these matters were irrelevant to whether Odeh lied on her immigration documents, and disallowed testimony on these topics.[41][42][43]

Odeh was convicted of immigration fraud in federal court in Detroit on November 10, 2014, for concealing her prior arrest, conviction, and imprisonment.[10][11] The jury deliberated for two hours before rendering its verdict.[44] Judge Drain told the jury: "I think your verdict is a fair and reasonable one based on the evidence that came in."[36]

She had her bail revoked and was taken into custody upon the conclusion of her trial, as the judge found her to be a flight risk, and was incarcerated in Port Huron, Michigan.[11][13][26] On December 8, Judge Drain agreed to allow her to be released on a $50,000 cash bond, pending sentencing, which was effected on December 11, 2014.[45][26] On February 13, 2015, Judge Drain denied Odeh's request that he either overturn the federal jury's conviction of her or grant her a new trial, ruling that her argument lacked legal merit.[14][15] The judge held that evidence showed that Odeh illegally obtained U.S. citizenship, the jurors "clearly did not believe [her] explanation", and "the evidence was more than sufficient to support the jury’s verdict."[14][15] Odeh was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison by Judge Drain on March 12, 2015, and it was announced that she would be stripped of her US citizenship and be deported from the United States to Jordan at the conclusion of her sentence.[16][17][19][46] She was allowed to go free on bail during her appeal.[16][18]

On February 25, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit unanimously vacated her conviction of an immigration violation, sending the case back to Judge Drain to reconsider the admissibility of expert testimony. Circuit Judge John M. Rogers, joined partially by Judge Karen Nelson Moore, vacated and remanded, while Judge Alice M. Batchelder partially dissented, wanting to vacate while ordering a new trial.[47] On December 6, 2016, Judge Drain in Detroit denied prosecutors’ request to reinstate Odeh's conviction, instead granting Odeh a new trial, scheduled to begin January 10, 2017.[48][49]

On March 23, 2017, Rasmea Odeh accepted a plea agreement where she would serve no prison time but would lose her U.S. citizenship and be deported.[50]

On August 17, 2017, Odeh was formally stripped of her US citizenship in a federal court hearing in Detroit before Judge Gershwin Drain. She was subsequently ordered to be deported to Jordan and to pay a $1,000 fine for immigration fraud.[51][52]

On September 20, 2017, Odeh was deported to Jordan.[53]

After deportation to Jordan

On March 19, 2019, she was banned from speaking at a public meeting marking International Women's Day in Berlin after German officials revoked her Schengen visa. Berlin city officials forced the Dersim Cultural Community Center to cancel the talk (for the Dersim community see Dersim rebellion and Kurdish Alevism). According to Haaretz, Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) issued a statement saying the decision was made thanks to pressure applied by him and "a slew of Jewish organizations in Germany, as well as protest by the Israeli ambassador in Germany."[54][55]

References

  1. ^ Anna Lekas Miller (November 1, 2013). "Prominent Palestinian-American Community Activist Arrested". The Daily Beast.
  2. ^ a b c Will Rasmea Odeh Go to Prison Because of a Confession Obtained Through Torture? Archived March 22, 2019, at the Wayback Machine by Charlotte Silver, Nov, 4, 2014, The Nation
  3. ^ Jason Meisner (October 22, 2013). "Feds: Woman hid terror conviction to get citizenship". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  4. ^ Warikoo, Niraj (November 11, 2014). "Jury finds Rasmieh Odeh guilty of lying on immigration papers". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c Jason Meisner (October 22, 2013). "Feds: Woman hid terror conviction to get citizenship". Chicago Tribune.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Arab-American activist on trial for allegedly concealing terror role in immigration papers". The Guardian. November 5, 2014.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Trial set for Jerusalem terror convict who moved to US". The Times of Israel. September 3, 2014.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Palestinian convicted of two bombings back in U.S. court over immigration fraud". Haaretz. September 2, 2014.
  9. ^ Sommer, Allison (March 9, 2017). "The Palestinian Woman Convicted of Terror Casting a Shadow Over 'Day Without Women'". Haaretz. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  10. ^ a b "US activist found guilty of not disclosing conviction in fatal Jerusalem bombing". The Guardian. November 10, 2014.
  11. ^ a b c Serena Maria Daniels (November 10, 2014). "Palestinian activist convicted of immigration fraud in Detroit". Reuters.
  12. ^ a b Israel tortures Arab prisoners. Published in The Sunday Times (London) on 19 June 1977 (Annex to Letter dated 30 June 1977 from the Permanent Representative of the Sudan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General). UN General Assembly. Security Council. Thirty-second session. Items 30 and 57 of the preliminary list. Question of Palestine. Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories
  13. ^ a b c d Jacob Meisner (November 10, 2014). "Palestinian activist found guilty of concealing Israeli conviction". Chicago Tribune.
  14. ^ a b c "No New Trial for Arab Activist for Lying About Killing Role". ABC News. February 16, 2015.
  15. ^ a b c "Judge Slams Rasmieh Odeh's Request for New Trial". Algemeiner. February 16, 2015.
  16. ^ a b c "Prison & Deportation for Hiding Terror Conviction". Courthouse News Service. March 12, 2015.
  17. ^ a b "Prosecutors seek up to 7-year term for Chicago-area Palestinian activist". Chicago Tribune. March 12, 2015.
  18. ^ a b "Chicago Activist Gets Prison Term for Immigration Crime". ABC News.
  19. ^ a b Ed White (March 12, 2015). "Chicago Activist Gets Prison Term For Immigration Crime". CBS.
  20. ^ Bill Chambers (February 26, 2016). "Rasmea Odeh Case Sent Back to District Court By Appeal Ruling". Chicago Monitor.
  21. ^ "Palestinian Woman Hid Deadly Bombings When Applying for U.S. Citizenship". NBC News. April 26, 2017.
  22. ^ a b c "Naturalized U.S. Citizen Charged with Immigration Fraud for Failing to Disclose Terrorism Conviction". Federal Bureau of Investigation. October 22, 2013.
  23. ^ a b c d "Evergreen Park woman Rasmieh Odeh charged with lying about Palestinian terrorist past". ABC13 Houston. October 23, 2013.
  24. ^ a b c d Jillian Kay Melchior (February 26, 2014). "Convicted Terrorist Worked as Obamacare Navigator in Illinois; A woman involved in deadly terror bombings in Israel kept her past secret from authorities". National Review Online.
  25. ^ a b Philip Weiss Harris wanted to understand How Israel had gone this way,'[permanent dead link] Mondoweiss 7 February 2020:'The trial was a sham. She was not allowed to bring up torture. She was not allowed to bring in post-traumatic stress. The expert in this field was not allowed to testify. An appeals court threw it out, and she was going to begin all over again. But by then, Trump had come in. Now they want her out of the country because she is a “terrorist.” It wasn’t an immigration problem, now it’s a terrorism problem, and she and her lawyers thought they can’t win this. And she had to leave the country. She had to leave her life, is what she had to do. And she doesn’t want to talk about it. At least not to me.'
  26. ^ a b c Katrease Stafford (December 8, 2014). "Judge OKs bond for Palestinian in immigration fraud". Detroit Free Press.
  27. ^ "Jacobson: Rasmea Odeh is no victim". Detroit News.
  28. ^ a b c "Jerusalem Supersol Re-opens for Business; 2 Young Bombing Victims Are Buried". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. February 24, 1969.
  29. ^ "Trial set for U.S.-Palestinian immigrant convicted in Israel deaths; Rasmieh Odeh is accused of hiding she was convicted in Israel for terror attacks from American immigration officials". Haaretz. October 3, 2014.
  30. ^ a b Lorraine Swanson (October 21, 2014). "Evergreen Park Woman Accused of Hiding Terrorist Past". Evergreen Park, Illinois Patch.
  31. ^ a b Michael Tarm (October 24, 2013). "Rasmieh Yousef Odeh, Community Activist, Accused Of Hiding Terror Conviction To Gain Citizenship". The Huffington Post.
  32. ^ Antonius, Soraya (Spring 1980). "Prisoners for Palestine: A List of Women Political Prisoners". Journal of Palestine Studies. 9 (3): 29–80. doi:10.2307/2536550. JSTOR 2536550.[page needed]
  33. ^ a b c Ed White (May 21, 2014). "Chicago activist rejects deal in immigration case". Yahoo News.
  34. ^ a b Ed White (November 5, 2014). "Arab activist lied to get citizenship, jurors told". Deseret News. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  35. ^ "Odeh Jury Hears Wildly Differing Theories". Algemeiner. November 6, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  36. ^ a b c Jeff Karoub (November 10, 2014). "Palestinian activist guilty in US immigration case". Yahoo News.
  37. ^ Niraj Warikoo (March 12, 2015). "Palestinian activist Rasmieh Odeh sentenced to prison for immigration lies". Detroit Free Press.
  38. ^ Majd Productions website Archived March 25, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, WomeninStruggle.com; accessed February 15, 2015.
  39. ^ "Judge quits case over share in Israel stores". August 12, 2014.
  40. ^ Kim Janssen (July 31, 2014). "Judge, big supporter of Israel, balks at leaving Palestinian terrorism-related case". Chicago Sun Times. Archived from the original on November 6, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  41. ^ a b "Four arrested at Oakland courthouse protest". ktvu.com. November 12, 2014. Archived from the original on February 12, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  42. ^ "Arab activist lied to get citizenship, jurors told". Yahoo News. November 5, 2014.
  43. ^ Will Rasmea Odeh Go to Prison Because of a Confession Obtained Through Torture? Archived March 22, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Forty years ago, the Israeli army tortured and imprisoned her. Now she's being forced to relive the nightmare in a US court. By Charlotte Silver. The Nation, November 4, 2014.
  44. ^ "Chicago-area activist given 18 months in prison for lying about terrorism role". Chicago Tribune. March 12, 2015.
  45. ^ Gus Burns (December 11, 2014). "Rasmea Odeh, convicted of lying on immigration forms about terrorist past, to be released on bond". MLive.
  46. ^ "Suburban Palestinian immigrant sentenced to 18 months in prison in terror-related case". Chicago Sun Times. March 12, 2015. Archived from the original on March 14, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  47. ^ United States v. Odeh, 815 F.3d 968 (6th Cir. 2016).
  48. ^ Whitcomb, Dan (December 6, 2016). "U.S. judge grants new immigration fraud trial for Palestinian activist". Reuters. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  49. ^ "US to retry Palestinian convicted of Jerusalem bombing". December 8, 2016.
  50. ^ samidoun (March 23, 2017). "Rasmea Odeh accepts a plea agreement with no prison time".
  51. ^ "Palestinian terrorist loses US citizenship, will be deported". Times of Israel.
  52. ^ "Rasmieh Odeh ordered to be deported, pay $1,000 for immigration conviction". Freep.
  53. ^ "Political activist Rasmea Odeh a symbol of deportation's many faces". Chicago Sun-Times. September 20, 2017.
  54. ^ Germany Deports Palestinian Convicted of Terror, Cancels BDS Event at Israel's Request. By Noa Landau. Haaretz, March 16, 2019.
  55. ^ Berlin blocks appearance of convicted Palestinian terrorist Rasmea Odeh. DW, 16 March 2019.
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