The United States has removed United Nations human rights expert Francesca Albanese from its sanctions list, according to the U.S. Treasury Department, marking a significant development in a legal dispute over measures imposed by the Trump administration.
The decision comes one week after a federal judge temporarily blocked the sanctions, concluding that the administration was likely in violation of Albanese’s First Amendment rights after targeting her over criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza.
Albanese, an Italian lawyer, serves as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories. In that role, she has called for the International Criminal Court to pursue war-crimes prosecutions involving Israeli and American nationals and authored a report accusing major U.S. companies of complicity in what she described as Israel’s “ongoing genocidal campaign in Gaza.”
Washington imposed sanctions on Albanese in July 2025, arguing that she had sought to encourage the International Criminal Court to take action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies and executives. The measures barred her from entering the United States and from accessing the U.S. banking system.
The sanctions became the subject of a legal challenge after Albanese’s husband and daughter, who is a U.S. citizen, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in February.
On May 13, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that Albanese’s residence outside the United States did not diminish her constitutional protections. The judge found that the administration had sought to regulate her speech because of the “idea or message expressed,” indicating that the sanctions were likely inconsistent with First Amendment guarantees.
Following the ruling, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control announced it would suspend implementation and enforcement of the sanctions while the court order remained in effect.
The Treasury Department’s latest update confirms that Albanese has now been removed from the sanctions list altogether.
The U.S. State Department and the White House did not immediately comment on the decision to Reuters.
