A US federal judge issued a preliminary injunction on May 13, 2026, temporarily blocking sanctions imposed on Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian territories [1, 2, 3, 4]. The sanctions, announced in July 2025 by the US government, barred Albanese from entering the country, using US banks and payment systems, and banned US persons from doing business with her [1, 3]. They came after Albanese publicly criticized US and Israeli policies in Gaza and recommended the International Criminal Court pursue war crimes prosecutions against Israeli and US nationals [1, 2, 3, 4].

US District Judge Richard Leon ruled the sanctions likely violate Albanese’s First Amendment free speech rights, saying, "Protecting the freedom of speech is ‘always’ in the public interest" [2]. The injunction halts enforcement while the legal challenge proceeds. Albanese’s husband and US citizen daughter sued the US government in February 2026, contesting the sanctions [1, 3].

Albanese, who has served as UN Special Rapporteur since 2022 monitoring human rights in Palestinian territories, welcomed the ruling. She said, "Thanks to my daughter and my husband for stepping up to defend me, and everyone who has helped so far. Together we are one," and hailed the court’s decision as a victory for speech rights [2, 3, 4]. In a separate statement, she said: "BREAKING! US court has suspended the US sanctions against me! As the judge says: 'Protecting the Freedom of speech is always just the public interest'" [4].

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized Albanese’s actions when announcing the sanctions, accusing her of running a political and economic campaign against US and Israeli officials. He said, "Today I am imposing sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt (ICC) action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives" [2, 4].

The sanctions partly responded to Albanese’s reports naming major companies, including Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Palantir, as supporting the Israeli occupation [4].

The next step in the case is the ongoing lawsuit filed by Albanese’s family challenging the US government’s sanctions.