WASHINGTON(National Times)- A US jud\u00ad\u00adge has imposed a temporary injunction on sanctions imp\u00adosed last year by Washington on a United Nations expert on the occupied Palestinian territories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Fran\u00adce\u00adsca Albanese was sanctioned in July 2025 after she publicly criticised Washington\u2019s policy on Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In announcing the sanctions, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed the UN expert\u2019s criticism of the United States and said she re\u00ad\u00adcommended to the Inter\u00adnat\u00adional Criminal Court that ar\u00ad\u00adrest warrants be issued agai\u00adnst Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Italian-born expert, who assumed her mandate in 2022, has faced harsh criticism by Israel and some of its allies over her relentless criticism and long-standing ac\u00ad\u00adcusations that Israel is committing \u201cgenocide\u201d in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Francesca Albanese was sanctioned after she publicly criticised Washington\u2019s policy on Gaza<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his court order on Wed\u00adnesday, US District Judge Richard Leon granted a preliminary injunction against the sanctions, according to a court filing seen by AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cProtecting the freedom of speech is \u2018always\u2019 in the public interest,\u201d Leon wrote in an opinion accompanying the order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Albanese, who said the US sanctions were \u201ccalculated to weaken my mission\u201d when they were first imposed, celebrated the ruling on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThanks to my daughter and my husband for stepping up to defend me, and everyone who has helped so far,\u201d Albanese said in a statement on X. \u201cTogether we are one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UN special rapporteurs like Albanese are independent experts who are appoi\u00adnted by the UN rights council, but do not speak on behalf of the United Nations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON(National Times)- A US jud\u00ad\u00adge has imposed a temporary injunction on sanctions imp\u00adosed last year by Washington on a United Nations expert on the occupied Palestinian territories. UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Fran\u00adce\u00adsca Albanese was sanctioned in July 2025 after she publicly criticised Washington\u2019s policy on Gaza. In announcing the sanctions, US Secretary of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":125968,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n