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Updates in Rasmea Odeh Case
Judge Paul D. Borman was forced to step down from the bench on in the case of Palestinian community leader Rasmea Odeh on August 11. On July 31, when 120 activists attended Rasmea Odeh’s pretrial hearing Detroit, they witnessed Judge Borman denying a defense motion calling for recusal, for him to step down from the case.
In an unexpected turn of events this past week, Borman admitted his financial ties to Israel, “could be perceived as establishing a reasonably objective inference of a lack of impartiality in the context of the issues presented in this case.” Defense claims of pro-Israel bias are vindicated, and Borman has removed himself. The case is now randomly re-assigned to U.S. District Judge Gershwin A. Drain.
The U.S. government is putting Rasmea Odeh, a torture victim, on trial in Detroit. Odeh, who organizes Arab American women to empower themselves and speak out, was arrested, tortured, raped, and convicted by the Israeli military in 1969. She has lived in the U.S. for 20 years and won her citizenship ten years ago. Now, however, the U.S. government is putting her on trial for fraud, for not writing about the Israeli military conviction on her paper work.
When Borman refused the motion to step down on July 31, he dismissed defense arguments about his decades of trips to and fundraising for Israel, claiming his “religious convictions” did not bring his impartiality into question.
According to supporters, Borman was falsely covering Zionist ideology with Judaism. “We opposed Judge Borman not because of his Jewish faith, but because of his decades of support for the state of Israel,” said Hatem Abudayyeh, a spokesperson for Odeh’s defense committee. “Rasmea overcame vicious torture by Israeli authorities while imprisoned in Palestine in the 1970s. She has committed no crime and the government has no case. We need a judge willing to listen to a defense that puts Israel on trial for its crimes against Rasmea, and against all Palestinians.”
Supporters of Odeh hail this as a victory for the defense, but are redoubling efforts to win justice for Rasmea. People are being asked to sign the Rasmea Odeh petition atwww.StopFBI.net.
Abudayyeh continued, “This case is a political attack on the Palestine liberation movement and that means we need a political defense as much as a legal defense. Thousands of people from across the country are fighting for Rasmea, demanding that the government drop the charges against her. If they do not drop the charges, we are still going all out for Detroit, to fill the courtroom every day of the trial.”
A status hearing in front of Judge Drain is still planned for Tuesday, Sept. 2, in Detroit, and the Rasmea Defense Committee is calling for supporters to pack the courthouse and to call the prosecutors to demand that they drop the charges on that day. The date of the actual trial is being rescheduled.
There are many opportunities for people to show their support for Rasmea, says the Rasmea Defense Committee.
First, you can call the prosecutors and tell them, “Drop the charges now.” Call Jonathan Tukel in Detroit at 313-226-9749 or Barbara McQuade at 313-226-9100 or 313-226-9501. When you call say, “Hello, my name is ________, and I am calling from _________ to demand that U.S. Attorney McQuade drop the charges against Rasmea Odeh.”
The second option is to come to Detroit on Sept. 2 for the Rasmea Odeh status hearing.
The third option would be to organize a protest in your city or on your campus Sept. 2.
Rasmea Defense Committee