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The United States (US) has lifted sanctions on Francesca Albanese, a United Nations (UN) expert on the Palestinian Territories who has repeatedly criticised Israel, following a court order on Wednesday.
A notice on the Treasury Department’s website on Wednesday showed that it had removed a sanctions designation on Albanese, which had placed her on the blacklist globally, making it impossible for her to use credit cards or engage in any bank transactions.
Albanese, an Italian, has been a relentless critic of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians in her position as the UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories.
Last week, the US District Judge Richard Leon 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.
Recall that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, while announcing sanctions against Albanese in July last year, said she “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 been made by Israel. She has been the frontrunner accusing Israel of engaging in genocide in Gaza in its devastating military campaign after the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas.
She experienced 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.
