United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese presents her book ‘When the World Sleeps’ at MACBA in Barcelona, Spain.
Mario Wurzburger/Getty Images
- A US federal judge blocked sanctions imposed on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.
- Albanese has faced harsh criticism by Israel and some of its allies over her relentless criticism.
- Albanese celebrated the ruling on social media.
A US judge on Wednesday imposed a temporary injunction on sanctions enacted 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 US and said she recommended to the International Criminal Court that arrest warrants be issued against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Italian-born expert, who assumed her mandate in 2022, has faced harsh criticism by Israel and some of its allies over her relentless criticism and long-standing accusations that Israel is committing “genocide” in Gaza.
In his court order on Wednesday, US District Judge Richard Leon granted a preliminary injunction against the sanctions, according to a court filing seen by AFP.
READ | Israel given ‘licence to torture Palestinians’, UN expert Francesca Albanese asserts
“Protecting the freedom of speech is ‘always’ in the public interest,” Leon wrote in an opinion accompanying the order.
Albanese, who said the US sanctions were “calculated to weaken my mission” when they were first imposed, and 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.”
BREAKING! US court ha suspended the US sanctions against me!
As the judge says: "Protecting the Freedom of speech is always just the public interest".
Thanks to my daughter and my husband for stepping up to defend me, and everyone who has helped so far.
Together we are One. pic.twitter.com/z6L3tb7Esp
UN special rapporteurs like Albanese are independent experts who are appointed by the UN rights council, but do not speak on behalf of the United Nations.
Reuters reported recently that UN human rights office spokesperson Marta Hurtado expressed concern about attacks on independent UN experts after several European governments criticised Albanese and called for her resignation.
“We are very worried. We are concerned that UN officials, independent experts and judicial officials are increasingly subjected to personal attacks, threats and misinformation that distracts from the serious human rights issues,” Hurtado told a press briefing when asked about the criticism.
Israel the victim???
If narcissism were a crime, this could be added to the lot to be considered by the court. https://t.co/iO1bTPw5do
US President Donald Trump’s administration imposed sanctions on Albanese after she wrote letters to US companies accusing them of contributing to gross human rights violations by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank.
Trump’s strike at Albanese was part of a broader executive order he used to sanction ICC judges and prosecutors - a campaign intended in part to head off any future attempts to hold him or his officials accountable for US military action overseas, Reuters found.
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