Federal judge blocks US sanctions against UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese

Lead

The United States has reimposed sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the UN's special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, a week after a federal judge temporarily blocked the measures and forced their removal. A notice published on the Treasury Department's website on May 28 listed Albanese again on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, according to The Hindu, which reported that an appeals court had issued an administrative stay on the earlier district court ruling.

The move closes a rapid back-and-forth: on May 14, US District Judge Richard Leon in Washington granted a preliminary injunction against the transfer. The Treasury Department then removed Albanese from the sanctions list on May 20, as reported by France 24 and the Jerusalem Post, citing the court order and the judge's finding that the Trump administration likely violated her free-speech rights. But the State Department immediately said the removal was temporary and did not reflect a change in policy, and it had appealed the ruling.

Coverage Comparison

All the outlets reviewed here – Al Jazeera, Dawn, France 24, Jerusalem Post, and The Hindu – reported the core sequence consistently: the judge's injunction, the May 20 removal, the State Department's denial of a policy change, and the later reimposition. Where they differed was in the specific details of the legal action and the emphases placed in their headlines. Al Jazeera's reports emphasized that the administration had been "forced" to reverse course and described the sanctions as part of a broader pressure on international officials. In contrast, The Jerusalem Post's reports noted the restoration of sanctions on May 28 with a neutral tone and noted that the Treasury Department did not immediately explain the re-addition. Dawn and The Hindu provided separate details from the early litigation, with The Hindu citing the lawsuit filed by Albanese's husband on behalf of her minor U.S.-citizen daughter.

Key Claims

• The sanctions were imposed in July 2025 – The transfer was announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who the source reported to have described Albanese as having "spewed unabashed antisemitism" and engaged in "lawfare" against Israel. She denied allegations of antisemitism.

• The judge's reasoning – Judge Richard Leon found that the transfer sought to regulate Albanese's speech "because of the idea or message expressed," according to Al Jazeera and The Hindu. In his decision, Leon wrote that "Albanese has done nothing more than speak" and that her "recommendations have no binding effect on the ICC's actions – they are nothing more than her opinion."

• The lawsuit and impact on Albanese – The case was brought by Albanese's husband and daughter, who is a U.S. citizen. The lawsuit argued the sanctions constituted "effectively debanking her and making it nearly impossible to meet the needs of her daily life," as reported by Reuters. In a statement on X, Albanese welcomed the judge's injunction and said her family had stepped up to defend her.

• The State Department's stance – The State Department acknowledged that the removal was part of the court order, but denied that it represented a change in policy. It said that the government had appealed and, pending the outcome, intended to restore Albanese's name to the SDN list, as the American Jewish Committee reported on May 21.

• Albanese's background – Albanese, an Italian lawyer specialising in human rights, has served as the UN's special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territory since 2022, where she has accused Israel of maintaining a genocidal war in Gaza. Her family maintains assets and a residence in the US, and she has called for the ICC to issue arrest warrants for Israeli and American officials.

Perspectives

The Trump administration

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions on Albanese, saying she had "engaged in biased and malicious deference to the ICC" and "lawfare" against US and Israeli officials. The State Department defended the sanctions as a response to her engagement with the International Criminal Court, which the department described as a "gross infringement on the sovereignty" of the United States, and said the removal was only a temporary legal compliance measure.

Federal judge Richard Leon

The judge, who sits on the US District Court for the District of Columbia, found that the sanctions likely violated Albanese's rights under the First Amendment of the US Constitution. In awarding the preliminary injunction, he ruled that "protecting the freedom of speech is 'always' in the public interest," and noted that the sanctions restricted a non-U.S. resident's speech because of the foreign residence, but the court determined that "her residency outside the U.S. does not subvert her protections."

Francesca Albanese and her family

Albanese, who denies allegations of antisemitism, has said the sanctions were "calculated to weaken my mission" as a UN rapporteur. Her family says the measures have prevented her from using bank services and nearly impossible to meet daily needs, and they accuse the administration of penalizing her for her advocacy. She celebrated the preliminary injunction and emphasised her and his family's unity in fighting the sanctions.