Federal Judge Blocks US Sanctions Against UN Expert on Palestinian Territories
Judge Richard Leon said the sanctions likely targeted Albanese’s speech and blocked enforcement while the lawsuit continues.
- On Wednesday, District Judge Richard Leon temporarily blocked United States sanctions against Francesca Albanese, a United Nations Special Rapporteur, ruling the Trump administration likely violated her free-speech rights by targeting her after she criticized Israeli military actions.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio imposed the sanctions last year, barring Albanese from entering the United States or using its banking services, after she recommended the International Criminal Court prosecute American and Israeli nationals for war crimes in Gaza.
- Judge Richard Leon rejected the government's foreign residency argument, noting her 'extensive connections' to Washington warrant First Amendment protections. 'Albanese has done nothing more than speak!' Leon wrote in his opinion.
- Albanese's husband, Massimiliano Cali, and their daughter filed the lawsuit alleging the sanctions prevented normal life and interfered with their 'constitutionally protected' relationship. Albanese stated the ruling 'proves me right' and thanked her family for 'taking the risk.'
- Justice Department lawyers had previously argued Albanese lacked standing as a non-American, while the Trump administration claimed it issued licenses to provide 'necessary' support for the family, which the judge found too unclear to justify.
74 Articles
74 Articles
Madrid. Israel’s representative to the United Nations (UN), Danny Danon, yesterday asked to imprison the agency’s special rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, after a U.S. federal judge decided to suspend the sanctions imposed by the Donald Trump administration against her.
US federal judge blocks sanctions against UN expert on Palestine
US District Judge Richard Leon on Wednesday temporarily blocked US sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, finding that they were based solely on her encouraging the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate and prosecute Israeli officials. Judge Leon made preliminary findings that President Donald Trump’s administration likely violated Albanese’s right to free speech by imposin…
Witches Unite: How Israel and the US Empire Tried (and Failed) to Crush Francesca Albanese
Photograph Source: Matteo Nardone The United States government, under first Biden and now Trump, has launched a full-scale assault on one of the most courageous and honest voices at the United Nations: Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In July 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions against her — freezing assets, banning travel to the United States, and attempting to financial…
US court suspends sanctions on UN Palestine expert
WASHINGTON: A US judge has imposed a temporary injunction on sanctions imposed last year by Washington on a United Nations expert on the occupied Palestinian territories. UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese was sanctioned in July 2025 after she publicly criticised Washington’s policy on Gaza. In announcing the sanctions, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed the UN expert’s criticism of the United States and sa…
A U.S. federal judge ruled to suspend sanctions imposed by the Trump Administration against Albanese, but Israel remains obsessed with punishing her for her denunciation of the genocide.
A US federal court has halted the implementation of sanctions against the UN rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories.
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