FBI attempts to question Chicago international solidarity activists. Don’t talk to FBI!
On November 15, three FBI agents came to the Chicago home of an international solidarity
On March 12, 2015, Palestinian American community organizer and women’s leader Rasmea Odeh was sentenced to 18 months in prison after an unjust conviction last November, but she is challenging that conviction, and our organizing has helped her remain free on bond, pending the outcome of her appeal. She is back home to her community in Chicago, and back to her work with the Arab Women’s Committee.
But we still have much more to do. Watching Rasmea walk out of that courtroom should serve as motivation for us to work even harder to spread her story and highlight her case in the 4 to 8 months before the appeal.
The sentencing hearing last Thursday inspired significant media attention and articles from a number of local, national, and international outlets, so the Rasmea Defense Committee is asking supporters to help us spread far and wide the positive articles written about the case and the sentencing. You can post via email and all forms of social media using the hashtag #Justice4Rasmea, and also flood the comments sections with appreciation and positive reviews. That coverage follows Action #2.
We are also asking supporters to respond directly to any negative press you identify by also flooding the comments sections, this time with critiques and corrections, and by writing letters to the editor.
The specific target of this action alert is a particularly damaging article by the Chicago Tribune:
Letters of 400 words or less can be submitted by email to [email protected]. Write the letter in the body of your email. Do not send an attached file.
The letters to the editor page is one of the most highly read sections of a newspaper. Even if your submission is not published, we need editors to receive a large number of letters expressing disapproval of their coverage of Rasmea and her case to influence their future stories.
Talking Points for drafting letters:
Sample Letter:
To the Editor,
The article titled “Chicago-area activist given 18 months in prison for lying about terrorism role,” published on 3/12/2015, deliberately feeds into terrorist hysteria, portraying Rasmea Odeh’s appearance in YouTube videos as evidence of guilt by association, and using the prosecution’s language of “terrorist reunion” as fact. At the sentencing hearing, Rasmea communicated her side of the story to the judge, but those words were excluded from your paper’s reporting. As a long-time Chicago resident who the judge agreed has worked tirelessly for the immigrant community in her city and beyond, Rasmea deserves to be portrayed fairly by the Chicago Tribune.
Sincerely,
[Name]
[City, State]