Francesca Albanese, the UN Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, said she has been effectively cut off from basic financial services under U.S. sanctions, describing the restrictions as “financial censorship” that is now affecting both her work and personal life.
In a recorded interview shared online, Albanese detailed the limits imposed on her. “I have a private medical insurance and they refused to reimburse me because I’m sanctioned by the U.S.,” she said.
She added that a recent invitation to speak at the European Parliament was canceled because the reservation carried her name. “You are cut off any financial transaction — no credit card, no possibility to be paid, no possibility to receive payments,” she said. Her U.S. bank account was closed, and she said she has been unable to open accounts in other countries.
The sanctions also prevented her from entering the United States to present her annual report to the UN General Assembly after her diplomatic visa was withdrawn. “It touches me personally,” she added, noting that her daughter is an American citizen and the family maintains an apartment in Washington.
The revelations come as Albanese faces a widening backlash in Italy over her conduct in recent months. Two weeks ago, a mural by Italian pop artist aleXsandro Palombo — titled “Human Shields” and depicting Albanese and Greta Thunberg embraced by a Hamas terrorist — was reinstalled in Milan after earlier versions were vandalized. Palombo said the mural was meant to raise concerns about activism drifting toward radicalization and what he called the “ambiguities” surrounding Albanese’s public role.
2 View gallery
a mural by Italian pop artist aleXsandro Palombo — titled “Human Shields” and depicting Albanese and Greta Thunberg
The mural added to existing controversy. Albanese drew criticism for remarks widely seen as legitimizing a violent pro-Palestinian raid on the newsroom of La Stampa, and several mayors who had planned to grant her honorary awards have since reconsidered. She has also faced accusations from Israel, the U.S., and figures in Italy’s Jewish community of promoting inflammatory rhetoric.
Albanese said the sanctions represent the culmination of “three years of smearing campaigns, personal attacks, defamation, and threats,” though she has given no indication she intends to step down.