Federal judge blocks US sanctions against UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese

US sanctions imposed on UN expert Francesca Albanese by the Trump administration have been temporarily ⁠blocked by a judge.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.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Family of UN rapporteur Albanese sues Trump administration over sanctionslist 2 of 3Israel systematically torturing Palestinians in custody, says UN expertlist 3 of 3UN expert says world has given Israel ‘licence to torture Palestinians’end of listAlbanese’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 UN Human Rights Council selected her for the position.