Italian Cultural Leaders Call on Government to Defend Francesca Albanese

(MENAFN) A coalition of influential Italian artists, actors, and intellectuals have urgently called on their nation’s leaders to defend Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, who recently faced US sanctions over her position on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

In an open letter addressed to President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, nearly 80 prominent figures demanded that the Italian government take decisive action to support Albanese, an Italian citizen.

The appeal, launched by the cultural dissemination initiative Tlon, called for the immediate removal of the US sanctions and urged Rome to provide diplomatic protection to Albanese, warning that she is being targeted "for fulfilling her UN mandate." The letter also proposed a joint parliamentary effort to extend formal diplomatic safeguards.

"Remaining silent on Gaza is complicity," the letter asserted, emphasizing the need for vigilant monitoring of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, backing cultural, legal, and humanitarian efforts to uphold Palestinian rights, and fostering a just peace grounded in international law.

Signatories include leading figures from Italian cinema such as Pierfrancesco Favino, Paola Cortellesi, Stefano Accorsi, Valeria Golino, Luca Zingaretti, Valerio Mastandrea, and Claudio Santamaria. The movement is further bolstered by intellectuals like Serena Dandini, Lella Costa, Alessandro Bergonzoni, art historian Tomaso Montanari, and author Lidia Ravera.

Public solidarity with Albanese has also been visible in Rome, where a mural bearing the slogan “Hands off Francesca Albanese” was recently painted on a street wall.

On July 9, the US intensified its response as Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions targeting Albanese, alleging that she sought to involve the International Criminal Court (ICC) in investigating, arresting, detaining, or prosecuting citizens of the United States or Israel without their governments’ approval.

Previously, the US had pressured UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to remove Albanese, releasing a statement on July 1 condemning her for allegedly making increasingly "antisemitic" and "anti-Israel" remarks. The statement warned that failure to act would undermine the UN’s credibility and compel the US to take unilateral measures.

In response, the UN Human Rights Council’s special procedures committee strongly denounced Washington’s sanctions, reaffirming their support for Albanese and her mandate.

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