US removes sanctions on UN official Francesca Albanese over Israel criticism

The United States withdrew its sanctions on U.N. Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese following a U.S. court intervention.

The Trump administration sanctioned Albanese last year over her heavy criticism of Israel’s military conduct in Gaza, including claims that it amounted to genocide. Albanese’s husband and daughter sued on free speech grounds, and U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled in their favor. On Wednesday, the Department of the Treasury announced it was complying with the ruling, withdrawing Albanese from its sanctions list in a simple notice on its website.

In his ruling, Leon argued that the unilaterally imposed sanctions against Albanese violated her First Amendment rights, and also that President Donald Trump exceeded his sanctioning authority with the designation.

Sanctions from the U.S. prevent those targeted from accessing the economic infrastructure of the U.S. and forbid businesses and individuals from doing business with them. The sanctions extend well beyond the