New Delhi: A US court on Wednesday, May 13, imposed a temporary injunction on sanctions against the United Nations Special Rapporteur on occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese.Albanese, who has been a tireless voice for Palestinians’ rights, was sanctioned by the United States in July 2025 after she criticised Washington’s complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a statement on X, said the sanctions were in response to her “illegitimate and shameful efforts” in recommending the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.“Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated. We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defence,” Rubio posted on X.Albanese, who was appointed as the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in occupied Palestinian territories in 2022, has repeatedly been targeted by Washington and Tel Aviv for her public criticism of government officials, corporations and executives engendering and profiting from Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the West Bank.Also read: In Praise of Francesca Albanese, Who Stepped Forward When the World Stepped BackOn May 13, US District Judge Richard Leon granted a preliminary injunction against the US sanctions. In a letter accompanying the order, Leon wrote, “Protecting the freedom of speech is always in the public interest.”Although justice department lawyers argued that Albanese was an Italian citizen, and thus, had no First Amendment claim, Leon said her “extensive connections” to the US, including her daughter who was born while the family lived in Washington, gave Albanese a claim to free-speech protections.Albanese and her husband have complained that the US sanctions had a severe impact on their family. They claimed that the designated sanctions froze them out of their bank accounts, severed ties with academic institutions and prevented them from travelling to the US. They even led the family’s insurer to deny payments for services received by Albanese.In an interview with the New York Times, Albanese said “she had experienced enormous hardship” due to the sanctions and her family feared committing crimes by maintaining contact with her.The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), condemning the US sanctions, said “Albanese has come under significant pressure” while fulfilling her duties. “The targeting of the Special Rapporteur cannot be separated from the egregious international crimes and human rights abuses being perpetrated against Palestinians and the longstanding efforts to delegitimise those who defend their rights. The prejudice and threats faced by human rights defenders – whether they are scholars, civil society actors, UN officials or experts – reflect a broader strategy of silencing dissent and shielding abusive power structures from scrutiny,” the statement noted.The Italy-born UN expert, who said the sanctions were “calculated to weaken my mission,” celebrated the ruling in on social media. “BREAKING! US court has suspended the US sanctions against me!” she said in a statement on X. “Thanks to my daughter and my husband for stepping up to defend me and everyone who has helped so far. Together we are one.”BREAKING! US court ha suspended the US sanctions against me!As the judge says: “Protecting the Freedom of speech is always just the public interest”.Thanks to my daughter and my husband for stepping up to defend me, and everyone who has helped so far.Together we are One. pic.twitter.com/z6L3tb7Esp— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) May 13, 2026