US Reimposes Sanctions on UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese After Appeals Court Freezes Lower Court Ruling

The sanctions are back

The US Treasury has re-added Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, to its global sanctions blacklist. The move follows a chaotic legal back-and-forth: on Tuesday of last week, a federal judge struck down the sanctions on First Amendment grounds. The Treasury briefly lifted them, but on Thursday an appeals court issued an administrative stay, freezing the lower court's decision pending a full review, clearing the way for the sanctions to snap back.

She has spread unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism, and open contempt for the United States, Israel, and the West.

The practical effect for the Italian jurist is immediate. She is barred from entering the US and locked out of her US bank accounts, forcing her to rely entirely on cash. The blacklisting also blocks her from using major credit cards or conducting international bank transactions, a measure with global reach.

A rushed legal roller coaster

On 17 May, District Judge Richard Leon delivered a landmark First Amendment ruling. He found that the sanctions—originally imposed in July 2025 by Secretary of State Marco Rubio—functioned as a punishment designed to silence Albanese's advocacy on Gaza and her support for the International Criminal Court. "Protecting free speech is 'always' in the public interest," Leon wrote, according to il Giornale, ordering the freeze lifted.

But the administration never treated that as a final defeat. Within hours, officials signalled the removal was temporary. The government filed an emergency appeal and, on Friday, a panel of federal appellate judges granted an administrative stay. That stay does not decide the case's merits, but it keeps the sanctions in place while the court examines the government's argument that foreign-policy and national-security prerogatives outweigh First Amendment protections when an ally like Israel is involved.

Who is Francesca Albanese?

Albanese is an Italian lawyer who has served as the UN Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories since 2022. Since Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack and Israel's subsequent military campaign in Gaza, she has become one of the loudest voices accusing Israel of genocide. Through conferences and global appearances, she has drawn a large following among supporters of the Palestinian cause.

At a book presentation in Milan just hours ago, she urged Italian audiences to resist a "warmongering culture," drawing a controversial comparison between balanced debate requirements in schools and an expert on paedophilia being forced to face a proponent of it. Israel has also accused her of antisemitism; she denies the charge.

It's time to oppose the warmongering culture taking over the country. The Constitution has protected us, but they are chipping it away. A minister is sending an order to avoid discussions about Palestine at school, claiming you need a balanced debate. But think about the inconsistency of that logic—it's as if a paedophilia expert had to face someone who is in favour of it.

What comes next

The legal fight is far from over. The case was initiated by Albanese's husband, Massimiliano Cali, on behalf of their minor child who is a US citizen. The appeals court's administrative stay is a procedural pause, not a verdict on whether the sanctions truly violate the First Amendment. Both sides now await a full hearing that will weigh presidential discretion in foreign affairs against fundamental speech protections.

A timeline of the sanctions fight

The renewed restrictions leave Albanese in a precarious position. With her bank accounts frozen and her travel blocked, her ability to carry out her UN reporting mandate, particularly visits and briefings that touch US soil or the US financial system, is severely curtailed.