Activist appeals sentence for immigration crime

DETROIT (AP) - A Chicago activist is appealing the 18-month prison sentence she was given for lying about her convictions for bombings in Israel when she sought U.S. citizenship.

A federal judge in Detroit in March also stripped Rasmieh Odeh of citizenship, meaning she'll be deported, but she was allowed to remain free while she appealed.

Odeh's lawyer says Tuesday's appeal in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals asks for a sentence that includes no more time behind bars.

Odeh was convicted of two bombings in Jerusalem in 1969, including one that killed two people at a market. But in 2004, she answered "no" on her U.S. citizenship application in Detroit when asked about any past criminal record. She also didn't disclose it a decade earlier when she was granted a visa.

Published: Thu, Jun 11, 2015