UN's Francesca Albanese slams US sanctions as retaliation for exposing Gaza war crimes

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese condemned US sanctions against her as "obscene" retaliation for exposing Israel’s genocide in Gaza, telling Al Jazeera the move aimed to silence justice efforts. She linked the sanctions to her report naming companies like Google profiting from Gaza’s destruction, insisting: "I want Google to stop supporting a government that killed 60,000 people. " Despite visa bans potentially barring her from UN headquarters, Albanese prioritised Gaza’s crisis, noting the US-backed GHF had become a “death trap”, replacing proper humanitarian work. Drawing parallels to murdered Italian anti-mafia judges, she warned: "These sanctions only work if people stay silent" – vowing to continue defending ICC investigations into Israel’s crimes. "We stand at a historic reckoning," she declared, her voice sharpening. "Either the world awakens to stop this disgrace, or we surrender to the mafia logic of power."