Detroit, Michigan Jury Convicts Palestine Woman for Immigration Fraud: Actitivst Was a Part of Jerusalem Bombing
A Palestinian activist was charged with immigration fraud Monday.
A federal jury in Detroit found the Palestinian immigrant guilty for failing to disclose her conviction and imprisonment for a Jerusalem supermarket bombing that killed two people and wounded several others. Rasmieh Yousef Odeh was sentenced to life in prison but only served 10 years before being released in a prisoner swap with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Nearly four decades ago, two bombs were planted at the Jerusalem supermarket and British consulate where Israeli authorities said the attacks were planned by the Popular Front.
Odeh was released along with 75 other prisoners in exchange for an Israeli soldier captured in Lebanon.
On Monday, the 67-year-old was charged with immigration fraud for not revealing the Israeli military court conviction for the bombing in 1969.
As associate director of Chicago's Arab American Action Network, she is widely respected in Chicago for her work with immigrants.
Activists accused the U.S. government of trying to silence critics of Israel by bringing a criminal case against Odeh. The case brought dozens of supporters who traveled from Chicago to watch the trial.
The U.S. District Judge Gershwin Drain barred reference to Odeh's reports about authorities torturing her to get a confession during the trial.
Gershwin told the jury that he thinks the verdict was a fair and reasonable one based on the evidence provided.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Tukel insisted that she didn't believe the criminal history questions extended beyond the U.S.
Odeh testified that she did not know that criminal history questions asked applied to places outside of the United States. In 2004, however, she was interviewed by a Detroit immigration officer who told jurors that she told Odeh her criminal history applies to anywhere in the world.
Defense Attorney Michael Deutsch said there was plenty of reasonable doubt for the jury.
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