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francesca albanese
'Albanese Has Done Nothing More Than Speak!' Judge Blocks Trump Sanctions on UN Palestine Expert
"The interim decision by the US judge gives me respite," said United Nations special rapporteur Francesca Albanese. "But the battle is not over."
May 14, 2026
A federal judge in Washington, DC on Wednesday temporarily blocked Trump administration sanctions targeting United Nations Palestine expert Francesca Albanese, ruling that the punitive measures violated her First Amendment rights.
"Albanese has done nothing more than speak!" wrote US District Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, in his 26-page decision granting a preliminary injunction against the sanctions, which US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last summer. Rubio said the sanctions, which barred the UN expert from entering the US and banking in the country, were justified because "Albanese has directly engaged with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of those two countries."
But Leon wrote in his ruling that "it is undisputed that her recommendations have no binding effect on the ICC's actions—they are nothing more than her opinion."
The decision came in response to a lawsuit filed in February by Albanese's husband and her daughter, who is a US citizen. They argued the US sanctions against Albanese were "effectively debanking her and making it nearly impossible to meet the needs of her daily life."
Albanese is an Italian national who currently lives with family in Tunisia. Leon wrote in his ruling that "while the speech at issue occurred outside the United States, defendants have responded by taking action against Albanese's extensive connections to the United States—including Albanese's property within the United States and her ability to maintain professional and personal connections within the United States—because of her speech."
"Accordingly, Albanese (or plaintiffs standing in her shoes) may claim the protection of the First Amendment to challenge defendants' actions," the judge continued.
Albanese, who has vocally condemned Israel's genocide in Gaza and the countries and private corporations that have been complicit, welcomed Leon's ruling, writing in a social media post that "the interim decision by the US judge gives me respite."
"But the battle is not over," she added. "ICC judges and Palestinian NGOs remain sanctioned with no recourse to justice. The stakes are incredibly high."
Dylan Williams, vice president for government affairs at the US-based Center for International Policy, called Leon's ruling "the right decision" and said Albanese "was wrongly sanctioned for constitutionally protected speech."
"War criminals should be held accountable for their crimes," Williams wrote on social media. "Making it a crime to say that is what is illegal. We must not sacrifice our rights or the rule of law for Israel."
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'A Voice That Upholds the Conscience of the World': Spain Honors Francesca Albanese for Efforts to Stop Gaza Genocide
The UN’s special rapporteur on Palestine has said nations seeking to punish her for documenting atrocities committed by Israel “want to silence everyone who demands an end to genocide.”
May 07, 2026
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez honored Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on Palestine, on Thursday, in a display of solidarity as she faces sanctions from the United States over her outspoken advocacy against Israel's genocide in Gaza.
Citing her work to document human rights violations over more than two years of conflict, Sánchez awarded Albanese the Order of Civil Merit, a knighthood granted to Spanish and foreign citizens for extraordinary services benefiting the state or society.
"Public responsibility... entails the moral obligation not to look the other way," Sánchez said in a social media post. "It is an honor to award the Order of Civil Merit to a voice that upholds the conscience of the world: Francesca Albanese."
Earlier this week, Sánchez petitioned the European Commission to intervene to stop compliance with the Trump administration's efforts to punish Albanese, as well as members of the International Criminal Court who have brought arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Albanese, an Italian legal scholar, has held the role of special rapporteur since 2022, a year before Israel launched a war in Gaza in response to a Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. Human rights organizations and UN experts have described Israel's assault as a genocide.
In March 2024, Albanese released the UN's first major public report, making the legal case that there are "reasonable grounds" to believe a genocide was being committed, referring to a litany of statements by Israeli officials establishing intent to destroy the Palestinian population.
In addition to documenting Israel's actions, she has published research demonstrating the "complicity" of nations that supply weapons and other support to Israel in what she has called a “collective crime" that they should also face responsibility for.
According to official estimates, at least 72,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, many of them women and children, while independent analyses suggest the death toll is much higher, in part due to the near-total destruction of health and other public infrastructure.
Many of the buildings in Gaza have been destroyed by over two years of relentless bombings, leaving most of its 2.1 million people displaced and living in tent cities.
Albanese told a Spanish broadcaster that the US and other nations attempting to punish her and other international authorities for speaking out against atrocities in Gaza were "like an international mafia."
"They want to silence everyone who demands an end to genocide, an end to the crimes,” she said.
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'Spain Does Not Look the Other Way': Sánchez Calls on EU to Block Israel-US Sanctions on ICC
"Sanctioning those who defend international justice puts the entire human rights system at risk," said the Spanish prime minister.
May 06, 2026
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez asked the European Commission on Wednesday to block compliance with US sanctions against the International Criminal Court over its arrest warrants against Israeli leaders accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Last February, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order sanctioning the ICC, citing its warrants in November 2024 for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant.
The ICC said at the time that the sanctions were meant to "harm its independent and impartial judicial work," potentially restricting officials’ access to US-linked property, services, travel, banking, and financial transactions, as they investigate widespread human rights violations and accusations of genocide during the more than two-year military campaign, which has resulted in the deaths of at least 72,000 Palestinians according to official estimates.
In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday, Sánchez called for the immediate activation of the European Union's Blocking Statute, which is designed to protect European citizens from the effects of foreign sanctions.
"Spain does not look the other way," Sánchez said in a post to social media. "Sanctioning those who defend international justice puts the entire human rights system at risk."
"The EU cannot remain idle in the face of this persecution," he continued. "That is why, today, we ask the commission to activate the Blocking Statute, to protect the independence of the International Criminal Court and the United Nations, and their actions to end the genocide in Gaza."
In addition to the ICC, Sánchez said that the commission should also shield Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, whom the Trump administration also sanctioned in July, claiming that her stark criticisms of Israel's actions in Gaza helped to "prompt" the ICC investigation.
Following the announcement, Albanese issued a message of thanks to Sánchez over social media.
"Gracias, Presidente Sánchez," she wrote. "For your words, for your principled stance, and for trying to steer Europe away from the abyss."
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