Despite prosecution’s ploys, Rasmea to be freed

After close to an hour-long deposition, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Tukel withdrew his motion to challenge the bond to be posted for Rasmea’s release. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Jebson led the questioning, asking whether the anonymous donor of the bond is actually a friend or only a political supporter, as well as challenging the donor’s views on Israeli military courts, the decisions of Judge Drain in the case, and the treatment of Palestinians by U.S. federal courts.

William Goodman, one of Rasmea’s defense attorneys, objected to all of these political questions as irrelevant to the proceedings. In addition, Jebson asked repeated questions implying that the Rasmea Defense Committee was raising money to be used to reimburse the donor.

At the end of the deposition, Tukel and Jebson retired to another room and returned 10 minutes later to report to Goodman that they would no longer be objecting to the bond, which will be posted tomorrow morning in the same courthouse where Rasmea was convicted a little over a month ago.

We are hopeful that Rasmea will be released a few hours after the bond is paid, and immediately return to her family and friends in Chicago.

We described Tukel’s legal maneuvering earlier today, and are pleased that Rasmea will be released, but also angered at the continued injustices of the U.S. Attorney’s motions. “Tukel and Jebson forced Rasmea to stay in jail for over a month, including the past two weeks in solitary confinement,” said Hatem Abudayyeh, spokesperson for the defense committee. “Their actions are nothing but punitive in nature, and their questioning of the donor clearly affirms that politics and ideology, not the law, govern their work.”

Keep updated at uspcn.org and stopfbi.net.