US Drops Sanctions Against UN Palestinian Rights Expert After Federal Judge Rules They Violated Free Speech
Treasury Department Reverses Course on Francesca Albanese Designation
The United States has lifted sanctions against Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, one week after a federal judge ruled the measures unconstitutionally restricted her freedom of speech.
The US Department of the Treasury announced the reversal quietly on Wednesday, listing Albanese’s name under the heading “International Criminal Court-related Designation Removal” on its website.
Court Ruling Forced the Administration’s Hand
The removal follows a temporary injunction issued by US District Judge Richard Leon, who found that the Trump administration had sought to regulate Albanese’s speech based on the “idea or message expressed” — a standard that courts have consistently held violates the First Amendment.
The injunction came in response to a lawsuit filed in February by Albanese’s husband and daughter, who argued the sanctions were imposed as direct punishment for her public advocacy documenting Israeli human rights abuses against Palestinians.
“It is undisputed that her recommendations have no binding effect on the ICC’s actions — they are nothing more than her opinion,” Leon wrote in his decision.
Why the Sanctions Were Imposed
The Treasury Department originally sanctioned Albanese in July 2024 after she published a report accusing 48 companies of complicity in Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Among those named were US technology giants Microsoft, Alphabet (Google’s parent company), and Amazon.
The Trump administration accused her of “biased and malicious activities” and “lawfare,” citing in particular her recommendation that the International Criminal Court issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant.
Albanese had previously described the sanctions as “calculated to weaken my mission.” She welcomed last week’s injunction in a statement on X, thanking her husband and daughter for “stepping up to defend me.”
A Broader Pattern of Sanctions Against Palestinian Advocates
The Albanese case is not an isolated incident. The Trump administration has deployed financial sanctions as a tool to suppress advocacy on behalf of Palestinians and other causes it opposes.
Earlier this week, Washington sanctioned four activists participating in flotillas attempting to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza, alleging without evidence that the organisers were acting “in support of Hamas.”
The administration has also sanctioned ICC judges and prosecutors following the court’s issuance of arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. The Hague-based court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, filed charges against the two Israeli officials in 2024 for “crimes against humanity and war crimes” committed in Gaza.
Albanese’s Mandate and Status
Albanese has served as UN Special Rapporteur since May 2022, appointed by members of the UN Human Rights Council as one of several independent human rights experts. Her mandate covers the occupied Palestinian territories, including the West Bank and Gaza.
Special rapporteurs operate independently of the UN Secretariat and receive no salary for their work. Their findings and recommendations carry moral and legal weight under international human rights law, but are not binding on states or international bodies.