Actors, writers, musicians, and intellectuals across Italy are rallying in support of Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, who was recently sanctioned by the United States for her work documenting Israeli violations in the occupied Palestinian territories, according to Italy’s leading news agency ANSA.

The mobilization is spearheaded by Tlon, a cultural and philosophical initiative founded by Andrea Colamedici and Maura Gancitano.

The group has published an open letter addressed to President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, urging them to “defend an Italian citizen sanctioned for carrying out her UN mandate.”

The letter also calls on the Italian Parliament to pass a unified motion offering diplomatic protection to Albanese.

Among the first to sign the letter are some of Italy’s most prominent actors, including Pierfrancesco Favino, Stefano Accorsi, Valeria Golino, Luca Zingaretti, Valerio Mastandrea, and Claudio Santamaria.

They are joined by well-known cultural figures such as Serena Dandini, Lella Costa, and Alessandro Bergonzoni, alongside leading intellectuals like art historian Tomaso Montanari and writer Lidia Ravera. Influential voices from the contemporary music scene—including Marracash, Francesca Michielin, Cosmo, and La Rappresentante di Lista—have also endorsed the statement, bringing the number of signatories to 80.

The letter strongly condemns the sanctions imposed on July 9, 2025, by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, calling them “an explicit attempt to divert world attention from the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza,” where more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed, over half of them women and children.

“We cannot allow sanctions against those who document human rights violations to become a tool for perpetuating impunity,” the letter reads. “Silence on Gaza is complicity.”

In a show of public solidarity, renowned street artist Harry Gleb unveiled a mural in Rome on Sunday that reads: Hands Off Francesca Albanese.