DETROIT — Rasmea Odeh was released from jail on Thursday afternoon, after Judge Gershwin Drain ruled to reinstate her bond.

The Palestinian American activist was convicted of immigration fraud on Nov. 10 for not disclosing a conviction in a military court in Israel on her U.S. citizenship application.  

Federal marshals arrested Odeh, 67, following her conviction after the judge revoked her bond, declaring her a flight risk. However, Drain reversed his decision, granting a defense motion to let Odeh go home until her sentencing on March 10. He set her new bond at $50,000. 

“Defendant’s dedication to her community work and the people that such work assists, as well as the presence of relatives in Chicago, demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence that she is not as significant a flight risk as originally believed,” Drain wrote in his ruling on Monday. 

However, the prosecution tried to keep Odeh in jail, arguing that her bond was being raised through multiple small donations, which does not create an incentive for her to appear in court for her sentencing. 

The Rasmea Defense Committee replied by stating that the bail money came from a single anonymous source.

Assistant U.S. attorney Jonathan Tukel questioned at a hearing on Wednesday if the money for Odeh’s bond was coming from a political supporter or a personal friend of hers.

William Goodman, one of Odeh’s defense attorneys, objected to the political nature of the questions, and Tukel eventually dropped his motion to keep Odeh locked up. 

Solitary confinement

Odeh spent two weeks in solitary confinement during her month at a county jail in Port Huron. She appeared overjoyed upon her release. She said she lost 15 lbs. over the past month. A few of her supporters came from Chicago to welcome her and drive her home. 

Odeh said she sang and danced in the daily hour when she could leave her cell for an open court in the prison. 

Hatem Abudayyeh, a spokesman for the Rasmea Defense committee, said placing the 67-year-old woman in solitary confinement was to target her because of who she is— a Palestinian American activist.

According to Abudayyeh, Odeh was initially placed for six days in a solitary cell for allegedly disrespecting the guards. “They gave us a vague explanation. It was a contextual reason for more punitive measures against her,” he said. 

Her six-day solitary confinement was renewed for three days three times, according to Abudayyeh. When inquiring about the reason for the renewal, Odeh was told by a prison administrator that she was in solitary confinement for her own protection.

“It is utter nonsense,” said Abudayyeh. “She had no issues with other inmates. She was getting along fine with them and had actually formed relationships with some people there.”