UN expert Francesca Albanese reveals how German authorities threatened her with arrest and used “mafia-style tactics” to silence discussions on Palestine.
UN Special Rapporteur on Occupied Palestine, Francesca Albanese, recounted the details of her recent experience in Germany during an exclusive interview with the Palestine Chronicle’s FloodGate Podcast on Thursday.
On February 18, German police surrounded an event in Berlin featuring Albanese, following intense political and legal pressure that forced organizers to relocate twice to increasingly smaller venues.
Originally scheduled to take place at the Freie Universität Berlin, the event was first moved under pressure, then relocated again after additional pushback.
Albanese described the situation as part of a wider crackdown on free speech in Germany, particularly concerning Palestine.
She revealed that she faced threats of arrest, harassment, and intimidation from German authorities for speaking about Israeli genocide and settler colonialism.
“I’ve been threatened with arrest, and it’s been so stressful because I’ve never been threatened with arrest. I’m a lawyer. I shouldn’t be in this situation,” she said, adding that she only avoided detention due to her diplomatic immunity as a UN official.
Despite her role as a UN expert, Albanese found herself under extraordinary pressure, including interventions by German politicians and the Israeli ambassador, aiming to block her from speaking at universities.
Albanese compared her situation to that of UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett, who has traveled to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan three times without facing such threats.
“The reason why (the arrest) didn’t happen is that the United Nations made it clear that I have privileges and immunities in the exercise of my functions, and Germany would have set such a negative precedent,” she explained. (more...)
‘Mafia-Style Tactics’ – Francesca Albanese Recounts German ‘Intimidation, Harassment’
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