ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – On Tuesday, Mark Goldfeder, director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC), announced that he had sent a report to Amazon and other platforms calling for restrictions on the sale on a book by Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in occupied Palestinian territory, who is a sanctioned individual in the US.

“Today we issued notice to Amazon and others about potential sanctions-violations connected to [Francesca Albanese's] new book. Under federal law, property and interests of Specially Designated Nationals are blocked and may not be transferred or paid out without specific authorization,” the statement on X reads.

The goal is to prevent Albanese from receiving the proceeds of her book “When the World Sleeps,” also distributed by Amazon.

According to Goldfeder, the request is based on the fact that Francesca Albanese was designated as a “Specially Designated National” (SDN) by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in July 2025. Under US law, assets and economic interests of individuals on the SDN list are blocked and may not be transferred or sold without specific authorization from the OFAC.

According to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the sanctions were levied against her "for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt [International Criminal Court] action against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives."

"Albanese's campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated," Rubio announced.

On Wednesday, in response to a user on X, Goldfeder said: “No one is afraid of her lies and I hope that many people buy it, so that her falsehoods are exposed and so that we can escrow the proceeds and give them to the people she unlawfully defamed.”

In September, the National Jewish Advocacy Center filed a federal defamation lawsuit against Francesca Albanese for the special rapporteur’s latest report, published in June 2025 and titled From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide.

The report debunked the complicity of Western actors in the genocidal machinery in Gaza, highlighting the role of companies such as Lockheed Martin, Leonardo, Microsoft, Caterpillar, Hyundai, and Volvo. Albanese specifically identified financial, military, heavy machinery, and technology corporations as key enablers of a system functioning as both an “economy of occupation” and an “economy of genocide.”

The measures taken against her have taken a personal toll, according to Albanese. “Sanctions are an impediment to freedom of movement,” the UN special rapporteur explained. “Then there are other aspects, such as financial measures, including the freezing of everything that is in my possession, such as my bank account, and fines of up to one billion and 20 years in prison if it is proven that there is an economic exchange, even in kind, against me. I am the mother of an American citizen, and my husband works for an organization that is in the United States. So you understand that it hits me in the heart right now.”

In an August statement, the UN commented, “We unconditionally denounce the United States’ decision to impose sanctions on the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) and reaffirm our commitment to defending fundamental human rights principles against efforts to undermine them and intimidate or silence those working to defend them.”

“The Special Rapporteur’s work represents a principled commitment to a human rights mandate, providing rigorous, independent analysis of grave violations of human rights and humanitarian law in the occupied Palestinian territories, including forcible transfer, systemic discrimination and a wide range of international crimes, several of them targeting or particularly affecting women and children. Sanctioning the Special Rapporteur for fulfilling this responsibility, which is mandated by the Human Rights Council, is a direct attack on the integrity of the UN human rights system. These measures violate international law, including the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.”

Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Glenn Greenwald commented: “The pro-Israel lobby has taken control of the US sanctions apparatus to impose insane and radical measures on the United Nations, denying Francesca Albanese the proceeds from the ‘crime’ of documenting Israeli atrocities in Gaza. Here’s the director of one of those groups trying to block the proceeds from his book.”

Georgetown University severed ties with the Italian UN official as a result of the US sanctions, Albanese announced on Monday, bringing her 10-year affiliation with the academic institute to a halt.