US federal judge halts sanctions on UN official Francesca Albanese
A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked US sanctions on Francesca Albanese, a UN expert on the Palestinian territories, ruling that the Trump administration likely infringed on her free-speech rights after she sharply criticized Israel.
The sanctions barred her from entering the US and banking there. Albanese, an Italian lawyer who is the UN special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, recommended the International Criminal Court pursue war-crimes prosecutions against Israeli and American nationals, News.Az reports, citing The Jerusalem Post.
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Albanese's husband and daughter, who is a US citizen, sued the Trump administration in February, alleging that the US sanctions are "effectively debanking her and making it nearly impossible to meet the needs of her daily life.”
US District Judge Richard Leon in Washington found that Albanese’s residency outside the US does not undercut her protections under the First Amendment of the US Constitution and that the Trump administration sought to regulate her speech because of the "idea or message expressed.”
Albanese has described sanctions as part of a broader US strategy to weaken international accountability mechanisms.
By Ulviyya Salmanli
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