Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, announced that a District of Columbia court in Washington, D.C., has suspended sanctions imposed against her by the Trump administration . In a post on X, Albanese reported that the judge ruled that "protecting free speech is always in the public interest," thanking her daughter and husband "for stepping up to defend me, and all those who have provided assistance thus far," based on the understanding that "together we are One."
District Judge Richard Leon ruled that the Trump administration violated Albanese's First Amendment rights when it imposed sanctions on her in July 2025 , in measures that appeared to directly target her critical statements about Israel, temporarily suspending them.
Albanese has served as the UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories since 2022, and her recent work has focused on Israel's military campaign against Hamas in Gaza. She has accused Israel of committing "genocide" and human rights violations in Gaza and has referred several Israeli officials to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for possible prosecution, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu .
Albanese's husband, Massimiliano Cali, filed the lawsuit in February on behalf of himself, his wife, and their daughter, arguing that the 2025 State Department sanctions violated his wife's free speech rights.
Leon, a judge appointed by former President George W. Bush, noted that "had Albanese opposed the ICC's action against US and Israeli citizens, she would not have been placed on the list of individuals sanctioned under Executive Order 14203," in a 26-page reasoned opinion. "Therefore, the effect of Albanese's designation is to punish and, consequently, repress unwelcome expression ."
The judge also ruled that Albanese enjoyed the protection of the U.S. Constitution, despite residing outside the country, deeming him to have "substantial" ties to the United States, sufficient to assert the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.
(Unioneonline)
