U.S. sanctions European activist networks, including Italian privacy collective

The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed counterterrorism sanctions on three European activist groups: Italy's Autistici/Inventati, Britain's Palestine Action and the transnational Palestinian movement Masar Badil. Treasury alleges that Autistici/Inventati supplied digital services to violent far-left groups, that Palestine Action supported acts involving injury and property damage, and that Masar Badil operates on behalf of the sanctioned Samidoun network, which Washington considers a front for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The designation is administrative and does not by itself amount to a criminal conviction. Autistici/Inventati, founded in 2001, is a volunteer-run provider of privacy-oriented email and websites for activists.