Federal Judge Blocks Trump Sanctions on UN Rapporteur Albanese
Judge Richard Leon temporarily blocked Trump administration sanctions against UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, ruling they likely violated her First Amendment free-speech rights.
Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, won a temporary reprieve from U.S. sanctions after a federal judge ruled the Trump administration likely violated her First Amendment free-speech rights. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon issued a preliminary injunction freezing sanctions that Secretary of State Marco Rubio imposed in July 2025, which barred Albanese from entering the United States and accessing American banking services.
The sanctions were triggered by Albanese's recommendations that the International Criminal Court pursue war-crimes prosecutions against American and Israeli nationals, as well as her report identifying corporations facilitating Israel's occupation. Rubio accused Albanese of antisemitism and support for terrorism. The measures were enacted under an executive order targeting individuals engaged in ICC investigations, and the administration also sanctioned 11 other ICC officials and 10 NGOs connected to the Gaza war.
The legal challenge was filed in February 2026 by Albanese's husband and daughter, a U.S. citizen, who argued the sanctions effectively debanked her and disrupted her daily life. Judge Leon ruled that Albanese's residency outside the U.S. does not negate her constitutional protections, stating she had done nothing more than express opinions with no binding effect on the ICC. The UN Human Rights Council urged the United States to promptly reverse the sanctions.
While the injunction suspends the measures during ongoing legal proceedings, it does not permanently block them. Albanese described the ruling as a temporary respite, noting that other ICC officials and Palestinian NGOs remain under U.S. sanctions.
