US to return Palestinian rights activist Francesca Albanese to sanctions list | United Nations News

The Trump administration is seeking to compel international officials to review statements made by the Israeli military.

The United States government has reinstated UN human rights expert Francesca Albanese on its sanctions list after a judge granted a temporary ban. against being mentioned.

On Wednesday, an update appeared on the website of the US Treasury Department of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), indicating that the Albanians had been added to the organization’s list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN), without providing further details.

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Albanese works as the UN’s special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, and his criticism of Israeli policies has made him a target under US President Donald Trump.

In July 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio released a statement to announce sanctions against Albanese, accusing him of “lawlessness” and “bias and evil” against Israel.

He also mentioned his recommendation that the International Criminal Court (ICC) issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, which they did in November 2024.

The announcement was one of several moves by the Trump administration against critics it considers hostile to US and Israeli interests.

The sanctions barred Albanians from entering the US and froze their assets in the country. He also banned any organization in the United States from doing business with him.

Albanese, an Italian citizen, has close ties to the US: His daughter is a US citizen, and the family owns a home in the country.

In February, members of the Albanese family prosecuted rather, to say that the sanctions had it messed up his lifeto the point of preventing him from accessing his bank account.

The lawsuit also accused the Trump administration of trying to intimidate those who oppose Israeli civil rights violations.

Albanese has been vocal in his accusations that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, a view echoed by human rights experts around the world. More than 75,000 Palestinians have been killed in the region since 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on the Strip.

Albanese is not the only one facing financial penalties for his work. Since his second term in office, Trump has reportedly imposed sanctions nine judges of the ICCand lawyers in court.

Judges and prosecutors are said to have participated in an investigation into alleged abuses by US and Israeli forces.

Legal experts have criticized the sanctions as an attack on international law and an attempt to shield the US and its allies from scrutiny.

On May 13, US District Judge Richard Leon, who was appointed by former President George W Bush, ruled in favor of the Albanese family, granting a temporary injunction against the sanctions.

Leon found that the Trump administration used the sanctions to limit Albanese’s protected speech. He added that Albanese could not be prosecuted because of the ICC’s actions.

“There is no doubt that his views have no influence on the ICC’s actions,” Leon wrote. “They are nothing but his thoughts.”

As a result of the decision, Albanese was removed from the sanctions list this month.

But the Trump administration appealed Leon’s order. It also said to do so restore him to punishment post as soon as it ended, although it is unclear what caused Wednesday’s change.