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Chicago Activist Seeks Delay In Detroit Trial

DETROIT (AP) -- Lawyers for a Chicago activist facing deportation if convicted of immigration crimes are asking a Detroit judge to delay her trial.

Rasmieh Odeh faces trial in a week, but her lawyers want more time. She failed to disclose convictions for bombings in Israel when she applied for U.S. citizenship in 2004.

Federal Judge Gershwin Drain is holding a final pre-trial hearing Tuesday, a day after he put limits on Odeh's defense. The 66-year-old is associate director at the Arab American Action Network in Chicago.

Odeh says she confessed to the 1969 bombings after Israel's military tortured her. She says she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder when she didn't disclose her convictions on a citizenship application.

The judge says she can't raise PTSD as a defense.

(TM and © Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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