KABUL (Pajhwok): The United States has lifted sanctions imposed on UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, a week after a federal judge ruled that the measures restricted her freedom of speech.
In a brief update published on Wednesday, the US Department of the Treasury removed Albanese’s name from its list under the heading “International Criminal Court-related Designation Removal.”
The move followed a temporary injunction issued last week by US District Judge Richard Leon in response to a lawsuit filed in February by Albanese’s husband and daughter, according to Al Jazeera.
The lawsuit argued that the sanctions were politically motivated and aimed at punishing Albanese for speaking out against Israel’s alleged human rights violations in the Palestinian territories.
Judge Leon ruled that the administration of President Donald Trump had attempted to regulate the UN expert’s speech because of the “idea or message expressed.”
The Trump administration had imposed sanctions on Albanese after accusing her of “biased and malicious activities” and engaging in “lawfare,” including urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
“It is undisputed that her recommendations have no binding effect on the ICC’s actions — they are nothing more than her opinion,” Leon said in his ruling.
Albanese did not immediately comment on Wednesday’s announcement, but she previously described the sanctions as “calculated to weaken my mission.”
Last week, she welcomed the court’s injunction in a post on X, thanking her husband and daughter for “stepping up to defend me” as well as supporters who backed her case.
The Treasury Department originally imposed the sanctions in July after Albanese released a report accusing 48 companies of complicity in Israel’s war on Gaza, including US technology giants Microsoft, Alphabet — Google’s parent company — and Amazon.
Albanese has served as the UN special rapporteur since May 2022 and is among several independent human rights experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council.
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