US Re-Imposes Sanctions on UN Special Rapporteur Albanese

Francesca Albanese. (Wikimedia Commons/Esquerda.net)

JAKARTA - The United States appeals court has re-imposed sanctions on Francesca Albanese, a United Nations expert on the Palestinian territories who has been harshly critical of Israel, after reversing an earlier ruling that banned the action on Wednesday.

A notice on the Finance Ministry's website showed they had reapplied sanctions against Albanese, putting him on a global blacklist, making it impossible for him to use major credit cards or conduct banking transactions, Al Arabiya reported from AFP (28/5).

Albanese, who is Italian, has been a relentless critic of Israel's treatment of Palestinians in his role as the U.N. Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories.

The US Department of the Treasury's move comes after a ruling last Friday from an appeals court issued an administrative stay of the previous ruling while the court considered the merits of the case.

The case was filed by Albanese's husband, Massimiliano Cali, on behalf of their child, an American citizen who is still a minor.

It is known that Albanese was at the forefront of accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza in a devastating military campaign after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, when announcing sanctions against him in July last year, said that Albanese had "shamelessly spread anti-Semitism, expressed support for terrorism and open contempt for the United States, Israel and the West."

Albanese in turn denied the accusations of anti-Semitism, which were also made by Israel.