Abuse of power & retaliation

US dropped $10M bounty on Syria's new leader while sanctioning UN Palestinian rights expert Francesca Albanese

Confidence: Corroborated · 4 sourcesUnited States · Sep 21, 2026

Subject of this story

Ahmed al-Sharaa, President of the Syrian Arab Republic (transitional)

U.S. Department of the Treasury

US Department of State

Also named

Affected

Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967

What happened

The US Rewards for Justice program lifted a $10 million bounty on Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria's interim president and a former leader of the al-Qaeda-linked HTS/al-Nusra, in December 2024 (SCMP, NBC News), and the US later lifted broader sanctions on Syria in 2025. In July 2025 the US Treasury sanctioned Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian territories and an Italian human rights lawyer, after she published a report accusing companies of complicity in Israel's actions in Gaza, which she has described as genocide (Al Jazeera, Bloomberg).

Sources (4)

Al JazeeraReports the July 2025 Treasury sanctions on Albanese and the stated rationale.

BloombergIndependent corroboration of the Albanese sanctions.

South China Morning PostReports the US withdrawing the $10 million bounty on al-Sharaa.

NBC NewsIndependent confirmation of the bounty withdrawal, with US diplomat's on-record quote.

Response

Ahmed al-Sharaa

Statement given

Contacted and responded — exact wording not on record.

U.S. Department of the Treasury

Statement given

Contacted and responded — exact wording not on record.

US Department of State

Statement given

Contacted and responded — exact wording not on record.

What happened next (0)

No outcome recorded yet.

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