Official data released by the US Treasury Department showed the re-listing of Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, among individuals subject to sanctions. This move comes shortly after the administration of President Donald Trump described the decision to remove her name previously as a temporary measure, reflecting continued tension between Washington and the UN official.
This latest action is based on an administrative decision issued by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last Friday, where the judicial body ruled to halt the implementation of a previous ruling that protected Albanese from sanctions. This new judicial decision allowed the US government to resume classifying the UN rapporteur as a foreign national subject to strict financial and legal restrictions.
Federal Judge Richard Leon had previously intervened to suspend these sanctions, considering that the measures taken by the Trump administration violated constitutional rights related to freedom of expression. The judge, in his ruling, found that targeting Albanese was a result of her public criticism of Israeli policies and military operations in the Gaza Strip, which he considered an illegal restriction of opinion.
The crisis dates back to July 2025, when Washington imposed severe sanctions on the Italian lawyer, including banning her from entering US territory and freezing her ability to conduct any international banking transactions through the US financial system. The administration at the time justified these steps by Albanese's statements, which Washington considered hostile to its foreign policies regarding the conflict in the Middle East.
In a related context, Albanese's family fought a legal battle against the US administration, with her husband and American-citizen daughter filing a lawsuit last February. The family asserted in their lawsuit that the sanctions made daily life and securing basic needs impossible, given the comprehensive banking restrictions that affected all of the UN rapporteur's transactions.
It is worth noting that Francesca Albanese, who assumed her duties at the United Nations in 2022, is considered one of the most prominent international voices that have accused Israel of committing 'genocide' in the Gaza Strip. She also called in her official reports for the International Criminal Court to prosecute Israeli and American officials on charges of committing war crimes, which put her in direct confrontation with the current US administration.
The Trump administration sought, by imposing these sanctions, to restrict freedom of expression because of the idea or message expressed by Albanese.
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Washington reinstates UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese to sanctions list