A US court has suspended sanctions imposed on UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese.
The court said the Trump administration had likely violated her right to free speech by imposing the measures after she criticised what she described as the genocide war in Gaza.
Federal Judge Richard Leon ruled in Washington that Albanese’s residence outside the United States did not reduce the protections granted to her under the First Amendment of the US Constitution. He said the Trump administration had sought to regulate her speech because of the “idea or message expressed.” according to Reuters.
Commenting on the ruling, Albanese said: “Thanks to my daughter and my husband for standing by me to defend me, and to everyone who has helped me so far. Together we are one.”
Albanese had previously described the sanctions as part of a broader US strategy aimed at weakening “international accountability mechanisms.”
