US denies policy shift on Francesca Albanese sanctions after court injunction
Federal judge Richard Leon ruled sanctions violated free speech rights, but Washington insists it will restore the measures if the DC Circuit Court overturns the injunction.
The United States has maintained that its decision to sanction Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur for Palestinian territories, remains unchanged despite a federal court order removing her from the Specially Designated Nationals list. The State Department clarified that the removal was a direct result of a preliminary injunction and that the Trump administration intends to appeal the ruling to the DC Circuit Court.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the department affirmed its intention to restore Albanese to the sanctions list should the appellate court stay or overturn the lower court’s order. The administration had originally imposed the sanctions in July 2025 after Albanese recommended that the International Criminal Court issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
The legal challenge was initiated by Albanese’s family, who filed a civil complaint in a US federal court in Washington, DC, in February 2026. The lawsuit argued that the sanctions violated Albanese’s constitutional rights, particularly freedom of speech, and caused severe financial hardship. As an Italian national with a US citizen daughter and assets in the United States, Albanese lost access to her bank accounts, apartment, and financial systems tied to the US following the initial designation.
US District Judge Richard Leon, who was appointed by former President George W Bush, issued the injunction on 13 May 2026. In his decision, Leon ruled that the government had sought to regulate Albanese based on the message expressed in her speech, noting that her recommendations held no binding effect on the ICC. He stated that Albanese had done nothing more than speak and that the sanctions were an unconstitutional restriction on her rights.
The Trump administration has accused Albanese of engaging in biased and malicious activities that render her unfit for her UN role. Officials have also characterised the ICC’s involvement in cases concerning alleged rights abuses by Israeli forces as lawfare. Despite the court’s intervention, rights groups and scholars continue to echo Albanese’s conclusion that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide, with the Palestinian death toll estimated to exceed 75,000.
