"A federal judge has temporarily blocked United States sanctions against Francesca Albanese, a United Nations expert on the occupied Palestinian territory. UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese was sanctioned in July 2025 after she publicly criticised Washington's policy on Israel's genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza. Albanese's husband and daughter filed a lawsuit in February against the Trump administration over the sanctions. It argued that the sanctions were an effort to punish Albanese for bringing attention to Israel's rights abuses against Palestinians."
"In his court order on Wednesday, US District Judge Richard Leon granted a preliminary injunction against the sanctions. He found that the Trump administration sought to regulate her speech because of the idea or message expressed. Albanese has done nothing more than speak, judge Leon wrote in his memorandum opinion. It is undisputed that her recommendations have no binding effect on the ICC's actions they are nothing more than her opinion."
"Albanese, who said the US sanctions were calculated to weaken my mission when they were first imposed, celebrated the ruling on social media. Thanks to my daughter and my husband for stepping up to defend me, and everyone who has helped so far, Albanese said in a statement on X. Together we are One. Since 2022, Albanese, a legal scholar, has served as the special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, where she monitors human rights abuses against Palestinians."
"The Trump administration sanctioned her last July, calling her unfit for her role and accusing her of biased and malicious activities against the US and its ally, Israel. Albanese had also recommended that the International Criminal Court (ICC) pursue war crimes prosecutions agains"
US sanctions imposed on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese were temporarily blocked by a federal judge. The preliminary injunction was granted after a lawsuit filed by Albanese’s husband and daughter challenged the sanctions. The court found the Trump administration sought to regulate her speech based on the idea or message she expressed. The judge stated Albanese had done nothing more than speak and that her recommendations had no binding effect on the International Criminal Court’s actions. Albanese said the sanctions were intended to weaken her mission and celebrated the ruling publicly. She has served since 2022 monitoring human rights abuses in the West Bank and Gaza. The Trump administration sanctioned her in July 2025, alleging bias and malicious activities and calling her unfit for her role.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]