US court order forces removal of sanctions on UN expert Francesca Albanese, who criticised Israel over Gaza.
WASHINGTON (United States): The United States on Wednesday removed sanctions on Francesca Albanese, a UN expert on the Palestinian territories who has harshly criticized Israel, following a court order.
A notice on the Treasury Department’s website showed that it had removed a sanctions designation on Albanese that had blacklisted her globally, making it impossible for her to use major credit cards or carry out bank transactions.
Albanese, who is Italian, has been a relentless critic of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians in her role as the UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories.
US District Judge Richard Leon last week granted a preliminary injunction against the sanctions.
“Protecting the freedom of speech is ‘always’ in the public interest,” Leon wrote in an opinion accompanying the order.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, announcing sanctions against Albanese in July last year, said she has “spewed unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism and open contempt for the United States, Israel and the West.”
Albanese denies allegations of antisemitism, which have also been made by Israel.
Albanese has been at the forefront of accusing Israel of carrying out genocide in Gaza in its devastating military campaign after the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas.
She faced a backlash when she said that the victims of the October 7 attack were not killed because they were Jewish but because of Israeli actions.
