Washington: A US federal judge has temporarily suspended sanctions imposed on UN human rights expert Francesca Albanese over her criticism of US policy on Gaza.
According to Beyond Time News, the sanctions were introduced in July 2025 after Albanese urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to consider arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and strongly criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had defended the sanctions, accusing Albanese of unfairly targeting the United States and Israel.
On Wednesday, US District Judge Richard Leon issued a preliminary injunction, temporarily blocking the sanctions while the case moves forward.
In his ruling, the judge said protecting freedom of speech is always in the public interest.
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Albanese welcomed the decision on social media and thanked her family and supporters for standing by her.
According to Beyond Time News, Albanese has served as the UN Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories since 2022. UN special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed to investigate and report on human rights issues worldwide.
