Reportage
Outpouring of solidarity for Francesca Albanese after American sanctions
While Netanyahu is nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, the Italian opposition is nominating Francesca Albanese. Petitions have already reached more than 120,000 signatures.
After Francesca Albanese was attacked from many sides for her latest report on the complicity of thousands of companies with Israel, and after the sanctions imposed on her by the U.S. State Department, the UN Special Rapporteur has also received a great deal of solidarity and support. On Saturday, the rapporteur wrote on X: “I am impressed (and touched) by how many are speaking out in defense of my work. Standing united against abuse is critical, and even more critical is to stop the genocide. TOGETHER WE CAN.”
This solidarity comes not only from Italian civil society and its most important organizations, such as ANPI and Auser, but also from the world of art and culture. On the initiative of Tlon (Andrea Colamedici and Maura Gancitano), an open letter was written in defense of Francesca Albanese, signed by dozens of figures from the world of Italian culture, from music to cinema to literature. The letter is also addressed to the highest offices of the Italian state, asking them to “defend an Italian citizen sanctioned for carrying out her mandate from the United Nations,” and asks Parliament to “express itself with a unified motion for the diplomatic protection of the Rapporteur.”
And while Netanyahu is nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, the Italian opposition is nominating Francesca Albanese. To date, there have been three nominations for the rapporteur for the important Swedish award: one was put forward by AVS, another by Communist Refoundation, and the third by Potere al Popolo. Added together, the petitions have already reached more than 120,000 signatures. Furthermore, a motion calling for diplomatic protection for Albanese and her nomination for the Nobel Prize was presented to the Rome City Council, which was expected to discuss it on Wednesday.
This mobilization has had “more success than imagined, and shows that there are many people who support those who do their job, who support international justice, and who do not forget what is happening in Gaza,” Enrico Calamai told il manifesto, emphasizing that “the behavior of the Italian government [is] entirely opposite … staying silent about a fellow citizen who has been sanctioned in the performance of her international mandate.”
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/solidarieta-a-francesca-albanese-dopo-le-sanzioni-usa-e-gia-120-mila-firme-per-darle-il-nobel on 2025-07-15