Judge Halts U.S. Sanctions on UN Palestine Expert Francesca Albanese

A Federal Judge Halts Sanctions Against a UN Expert

A federal judge recently issued a temporary block on the Trump administration's sanctions against Francesca Albanese, a United Nations expert on the occupied Palestinian territories. The decision came after the judge determined that the sanctions violated her right to free speech, particularly because they were aimed at "punishing" and "suppressing disfavored expression" following her recommendations to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon stated that the sanctions against Albanese were unconstitutional as they targeted her for expressing her opinion. In his ruling, Leon emphasized that Albanese had done nothing more than speak, noting that her recommendations have no binding effect on the ICC's actions. He further pointed out that these recommendations are merely her personal views.

Albanese had called on the ICC to issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders involved in what she described as a genocide in Gaza. This included Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Defense Minister Israel Katz. She outlined how each of these officials contributed to the "infliction of collective torment and settler colonial genocide" in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

In July 2025, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio imposed sanctions on Albanese based on a Trump executive order targeting individuals "directly engaged" with ICC investigations into Israel's crimes in Gaza. This executive order followed the ICC issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for their alleged crimes in Gaza.

The sanctions placed on Albanese have significantly impacted her life. She described them as causing a "civil death," leading to the seizure of her apartment in Washington, D.C., where she lived with her husband and daughter. These sanctions also prevented her family from returning to the U.S. and froze them out of international banking systems. In her own words, "Even outside the U.S., it means financial exile. I cannot hold a bank account. I cannot make bank transfers. My email address was shut down."

Additionally, Albanese noted that her ties with universities such as Georgetown and Columbia were severed. She expressed feeling treated like an international drug trafficker, punished without due process and without any opportunity to defend herself. She highlighted the potential fines of up to $1 million for anyone providing goods or services to her. Her husband works for a U.S.-based organization, and her daughter, who was born in the U.S., holds American citizenship. All of them have been affected by these sanctions.

Rubio claimed that Albanese had "spewed unabashed antisemitism" while criticizing her allegations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Left-wing economist Yanis Varoufakis commented on the repression Albanese faced due to her outspokenness on the genocide, describing the situation as involving smears, investigations, vicious editorials, frozen bank accounts, and the dispossession of her only apartment.

The U.S. has also sanctioned at least 11 ICC judges, with the effects being described as leaving them and their families "wiped out economically and socially."

Leon’s preliminary injunction against the sanctions halted travel bans and banking restrictions on Albanese. Following the decision, Albanese wrote on X, stating, "The interim by the US judge gives me respite but the battle is not over. ICC judges and Palestinian NGOs remain sanctioned with no recourse to justice. The stakes are incredibly high."