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US Court Suspends Sanctions Targeting Francesca Albanese

Above photo: Alamy.

Albanese faced ‘terrorist-grade sanctions’ from the US for her UN work exposing Israel’s crimes against Palestinians.

A US federal court in Washington, DC, temporarily suspended “terrorist-grade sanctions” imposed on UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese on 13 May, after her family filed a court challenge to the punitive measures.

“Albanese is a scholar and author who has published widely on human rights issues, including on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,”  the memorandum read.

The court filing was brought by Albanese’s husband and daughter, who are seeking to overturn the sanctions imposed after the UN special rapporteur urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to pursue war crimes cases against Israeli and US nationals over their central role in the genocide in Gaza. 

The court said the family alleges Albanese was sanctioned “because of her speech” – specifically her “non-binding recommendation” that the ICC pursue war crimes prosecutions against Israeli and US nationals.

The filing adds that her husband and daughter were “harmed” by the sanctions and asked the court to temporarily block them, and concluded by saying “For the following reasons, I will GRANT plaintiffs’ motion.” 

“BREAKING! US court has suspended the US sanctions against me!” Albanese wrote on X, affirming the judge’s conviction that safeguarding free speech is always of “public interest.”

Albanese also thanked her daughter and husband “for stepping up to defend me, and everyone who has helped so far.”

The UN special rapporteur has become one of the most prominent international legal voices calling for accountability over Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the wider system of occupation and apartheid imposed on Palestinians.

The US imposed heavy sanctions on Albanese after she urged the ICC to pursue war crimes cases against Israeli officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, for their central role in the genocide in Gaza, as well as the wider crimes in pursuit of ethnic cleansing and apartheid throughout occupied Palestine. 

The measures against Albanese were described by experts as “terrorist-grade sanctions,” and targeted a number of other ICC officials for their speech and legal advocacy.

Albanese’s family sued Washington in late February, saying the measures harmed the entire family by disrupting their lives, restricting access to their Washington home, freezing assets, and punishing her UN-mandated work while also violating the First Amendment rights of her daughter, who is a US citizen. 

Albanese has received broad international support over her work on Gaza, with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez awarding her the Order of Civil Merit in a public show of solidarity against US sanctions.

Sanchez also urged the European Commission to activate the EU Blocking Statute to shield the ICC and UN officials from Washington’s punitive measures, warning that “sanctioning those who defend international justice puts the entire human rights system at risk.”

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