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.
47 Articles
47 Articles
US court suspends sanctions on UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese
A US judge on Wednesday 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 criticized 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 said she r…
A US federal judge has temporarily blocked sanctions imposed by the US administration on Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Judge blocks US sanctions on UN official for backing Israel war crime charges
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has ordered that the Trump administration cannot penalize U.N. official Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, who has accused Israel of war crimes and human rights abuses in Gaza. In July 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Treasury Department announced that the United States would be imposing sanctions on Albanese. The sanctions were imposed for wh…
Federal judge suspends US sanctions against UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked US sanctions against Francesca Albanese, a UN expert on the Palestinian territories, saying the Trump administration likely violated her free-speech rights by imposing the measures after she criticized Israel’s war in Gaza. Albanese, an Italian lawyer who is UN special rapporteur on the Israel-occupied Palestinian territories, was sanctioned after she publicly criticized Washington’s…
Trump’s Sanctions on UN’s Francesca Albanese Blocked by Federal Judge
A federal US judge has blocked sanctions imposed by the Trump administration on a UN expert who called for US and Israeli officials to be prosecuted for war crimes in Gaza. US secretary of state Marco Rubio introduced punitive measures last year against Italian lawyer Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on the Israel-occupied Palestinian territories, following an executive order from president Donald Trump. The sanctions, which b…
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