US court suspends sanctions on UN rapporteur on Palestinians

A US federal judge on May 13 temporarily suspended sanctions imposed on Francesca Albanese, a UN expert on the Palestinian territories, ruling that the Trump administration is likely to have violated her free speech rights.

The measures had blocked Albanese from entering the United States and restricted her access to banking services, following her public criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, a close US ally, Caliber.Az reports, citing Reuters.

Albanese, an Italian lawyer serving as the UN special rapporteur on the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, had also urged the International Criminal Court to consider war crimes prosecutions against Israeli and US nationals.

Her husband and daughter, a US citizen, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in February, alleging the ⁠sanctions are "effectively debanking her and making it nearly impossible to meet the needs of her daily life.”

In his ruling, US District Judge Richard Leon in Washington said Albanese’s residence outside the United States did not diminish her First Amendment protections.

He also found that the administration appeared to have targeted her for the “idea or message expressed.”

Albanese has argued that the sanctions form part of a broader effort to undermine international accountability mechanisms.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov