Scathing allegation of UN official against Germany over Israel

UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese has accused Germany of trying to silence her for talking about Israel’s “genocidal war” in Gaza.

In a piece for Zeteo, she highlights that during her five-day trip to Germany, she was unable to deliver a series of lectures or attend debates about the ongoing conflict due to interference from pro-Israeli groups and Israeli and German officials.

“While I was aware of the challenges of discussing Palestine/Israel in Germany, I was expecting it to be not unlike my last visit in May 2024, when I … met with dozens of think tanks and civil society representatives eager to discuss my work,” Albanese wrote.

“But instead, my five-day visit descended into a chaotic trip full of harassment, cancellations, attacks on organisers, changing venues, and even threats of arrest over my comments.”

Albanese continued: “What I witnessed was a harsh deviation from democratic values and a troubling shrinking landscape for freedom of expression and other fundamental rights.”