US lifts sanctions on Francesca Albanese, former UN expert on Palestinian rights

US Lifts Sanctions on UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese

The US Department of the Treasury has removed sanctions against Francesca Albanese, a UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, following a federal court’s ruling that the measures restricted her freedom of speech. The update was posted on the Treasury Department’s website on Wednesday.

In February, Albanese’s husband and daughter filed a lawsuit arguing that the sanctions were imposed as punishment for her public advocacy against Israel’s human rights abuses in Gaza. A US District Judge, Richard Leon, issued a temporary injunction against the sanctions after finding that President Donald Trump’s administration had sought to regulate Albanese’s speech due to the “idea or message expressed”. The judge stated that Albanese’s recommendations have no binding effect on the International Criminal Court.

The Treasury Department imposed the sanctions in July 2022, following Albanese’s report accusing 48 companies of complicity in Israel’s actions in Gaza. These companies included US tech giants Microsoft, Alphabet (Google’s parent company), and Amazon. Albanese has served as the UN rapporteur since May 2022, as one of several independent human rights experts appointed by members of the UN Human Rights Council.

The Trump administration had imposed sanctions on Albanese after accusing her of “biased and malicious activities” and “lawfare”. The Hague-based International Criminal Court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, has filed charges against Israeli officials for crimes committed in Gaza.

Source: Al Jazeera