• Media reports confirm Francesca Albanese never called Israel ‘common enemy of humanity’
• Amnesty chief brands European ministers’ refusal to retract ‘political cowardice’
• French lawyers file criminal complaint against Barrot over false statements
• Ruffalo, Bardem among over 100 celebrities rallying behind UN expert
• OIC warns fabricated claims risk undermining credibility of UN Human Rights Council
TOP European government officials who led a smear campaign against United Nations special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, have failed to apologise or withdraw their calls for her resignation, even after multiple reports confirmed the allegations were based on a fabricated quote.
France 24 and Reuters verified that Albanese did not describe Israel as the “common enemy of humanity” during a forum in Qatar earlier this month, an allegation levelled by Israeli officials and echoed by European ministers.
Transcripts of the event show she was referring to a global system of finance and weaponry. Yet diplomats from France, Germany and other nations have so far declined to correct the record.
Amnesty International has demanded that European states immediately withdraw their accusations. Its secretary general, Agnès Callamard, said ministers in Austria, Czechia, France, Germany and Italy had attacked Albanese on the basis of a “deliberately truncated video” that gravely misrepresented her remarks.
“The ministers that have spread disinformation must...
Log In Forgot Account? Rappler's Post 17m · #FactCheck: The videos falsely claim that Senator Risa Hontiveros was arrested, while their content discusses entirely different topics #FactsFirstPH ra...