US judge blocks sanctions against UN Palestine expert in free speech ruling
- Human Rights Research Center
- 19 hours ago
- 2 min read
Author: Christine Savino
May 21, 2026
HRRC condemns the use of sanctions to punish human rights advocacy and calls for governments to respect the independence of United Nations experts, especially where speech concerns alleged international crimes and accountability.
![Francesca Albanese close-up [Image credit: Rafael Medeiros via Wikimedia Commons]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e28a6b_7a1ec4216cf34db680315fc8d31c4997~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_144,h_212,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_avif,quality_auto/e28a6b_7a1ec4216cf34db680315fc8d31c4997~mv2.jpg)
A US federal judge temporarily blocked sanctions imposed on United Nations Palestine expert Francesca Albanese, ruling that the Trump administration likely violated her free speech rights.
US District Judge Richard Leon granted a preliminary injunction on May 13th in L.C. et al. v. Trump et al. after he found that the sanctions appeared to target Albanese because of her public criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza and her calls for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to encourage that action be taken against Israeli and US individuals allegedly responsible for war crimes.
“Protecting freedom of speech is ‘always’ in the public interest,” Judge Leon wrote in his opinion.
Albanese, an Italian human rights lawyer, serves as the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated her as violating an executive order created to target individuals linked to ICC investigations on July 9th, 2025, and the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added her to its sanctions list the same day.
The sanctions blocked US-linked transactions with Albanese and suspended her entry into the United States. According to the court’s ruling, she was also removed from her joint US bank account and later denied bank accounts at several European banks.
Judge Leon rejected the federal government’s argument that Albanese’s non-US residency defeated her First Amendment claim, pointing to her connections with the United States, including her US-citizen daughter and her family’s home in Washington, DC.
“Not only do defendants seek to regulate Albanese's speech, they want to regulate her speech because of the ‘idea or message expressed,’” Leon wrote in his opinion. He added that “Albanese has done nothing more than speak,” and that her recommendations had no binding effect on the ICC.
The lawsuit was brought forward in February by Albanese’s husband and daughter, who argued that the sanctions had severely disrupted family life and were imposed in retaliation for protected speech. The U.S. Department of State previously dismissed the challenge as “baseless lawfare” and defended the sanctions as lawful.
The ruling does not permanently strike down the sanctions against Albanese, but the decision ultimately prevented their enforcement for the duration of the legal process.
Francesca Albanese has been reached for comment.
Glossary
Executive Order 14203: A presidential order issued in February 2025 authorising sanctions linked to ICC investigations involving US nationals or certain allies.
First Amendment: The part of the US Constitution protecting freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition.
International Criminal Court: A court based in The Hague that prosecutes genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression.
Preliminary injunction: A court order temporarily preventing a government or party from taking certain action while litigation continues.
Special Rapporteur: An independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor, report, and advise on specific human rights issues.
Specially Designated Nationals List: An OFAC sanctions list identifying people and entities whose US-linked property and transactions are restricted.
Sources