Chicago activist asks for bond, release from jail

By Ed White
Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) - Allies of a Chicago activist convicted of illegally getting U.S. citizenship are willing to put their homes up as collateral to get her out of jail while she awaits her sentence.

Rasmieh Odeh is asking a Detroit judge to reconsider a decision that is keeping her locked up in a county jail until her next hearing in March. Prosecutors have until Wednesday to respond.

Odeh, 67, runs daily operations at the Arab American Action Network in Chicago, which provides services to immigrants. She was convicted last week of failing to disclose her convictions for bombings in Israel in 1969 when she applied for citizenship in Detroit in 2004.

U.S. District Judge Gershwin Drain revoked her bond and ordered her to jail, saying she might flee the country. But in a court filing, Odeh's attorney said she has no passport and is deeply tied to Chicago.

Published: Tue, Nov 18, 2014