The government has appealed a judge’s ruling that it violated the free speech rights of Francesca Albanese, who was sanctioned for speaking out against Israel.
A United Nations official has won a significant legal skirmish with the United States government, after it sanctioned her for condemning the Israeli government and advocating legal action against it. But her conflict with the American authorities is far from over.
The U.S. government on Wednesday removed the official, Francesca Albanese, from its sanctions list, complying with a federal judge’s order last week in the District of Columbia. The judge, Richard J. Leon of the District Court, made a preliminary finding that the sanctions violated Ms. Albanese’s First Amendment right to free speech, but the case will continue to play out in court.
Ms. Albanese is the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza, appointed to monitor and report on the human rights situation there. She has been vociferous in her criticism of Israel and its treatment of Palestinians in those territories.
Last July, Secretary of State Marco Rubio imposed sanctions on her, saying that she “directly engaged with the International Criminal Court in efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of those two countries.” Neither country has signed the treaty that created the I.C.C., or recognizes its authority. Mr. Rubio said she had urged the international court to prosecute U.S. companies that work with Israel.
In 2024, the court issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and a former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, alleging war crimes in Gaza.
Judge Leon wrote in his opinion granting the injunction that Ms. Albanese’s statements did not appear to lawfully subject her to the government’s punishment, saying that “the only way” Albanese had engaged with the I.C.C. was “by offering her non-binding opinion and recommendation — in other words, by speaking!”