(10 Jul 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sarajevo, Bosnia – 10 July 2025
++NIGHT TIME++
1. UN special rapporteur for West Bank and Gaza Francesca Albanese speaking at Sarajevo airport
2. Albanese talking
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur for West Bank and Gaza:
“I don’t know, it was shocking, but the way I came to know about that is interesting, because I was in public lecture, I was in a conference, and I understood there was some tension, something has happened. So my first thought was safety of my family and my friends. So when they told me at the end of it ‘oh, they imposed sanctions on you.’… (exhales in relief) it’s just sanctions… Of course, I’m upset, but as I was saying tonight, and I was writing tonight, when the powerful silence those who defend, those who have no power any more, other than standing and hoping not to die, not to see their children slaughtered, this is not a sign of power, it’s a sign of guilt. So, that’s OK, it shows how weak and declining the empire is. I will stand tall with the millions who are standing tall today to see the end of genocide in Gaza. We must see the end soon.”
4. Albanese being interviewed
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur for West Bank and Gaza:
“So, yes, today, we need to connect the dots. No one is free until Palestine is free, it’s more then a metaphor. Today is true. Because our political powers are clearly standing side by side a ‘genocider’. The United States is receiving with honor someone (Israeli prime minister) who is wanted by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity. And instead of making justice, it’s sanctioning the ICC (International Criminal Court) and the person who asking him to be accountable. Makes no sense. We need to really help this moment, this transition, to happen. For the better. We need to reverse the table, we need to reverse the tide. And in order for it to happen, we need to stand united. They can not silence us all. They can not kill us all. They can not fire us all. The only way to win over is to throw our fear.“
6. Albanese being interviewed
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur for West Bank and Gaza:
“This is not normal, there is so much of that country (US) that must be liberated. So instead of saying ‘Free, Free Palestine’ we should say ‘Free, Free United States of America’ and ‘Free, Free Europe.’ Seriously."
8. Albanese being interviewed
STORYLINE:
The United Nations special rapporteur for the Gaza Strip and the West Bank on Thursday dismissed the sanctions placed on her by the United States, saying the action by the Trump administration was "not a sign of power, it’s a sign of guilt".
Francesca Albanese was speaking in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, a day after the U.S. State Department issued sanctions against the investigator, the latest effort by Washington to punish critics of Israel’s 21-month war in Gaza.
The move against the independent investigator tasked by the United Nations Human Rights Council with probing human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories followed after a recent U.S. pressure campaign to force the international body to remove her from her post.
Albanese, an Italian human rights lawyer, has been vocal about what she describes as the “genocide” by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza, an accusation which both Israel and the U.S. have strongly denied.
Israel has long had a rocky relationship with the Human Rights Council, Albanese and previous rapporteurs, accusing them of bias.
AP video by Eldar Emric
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