Francesca Albanese, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, is involved in a First Amendment lawsuit regarding U.S. sanctions against her. Albanese, who is not a U.S. citizen and resides in Tunisia, has been placed back on the sanctions list after a recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that overturned a lower court's injunction.
The sanctions were initially imposed by the U.S. State Department in July 2025 due to her advocacy for the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on war crimes charges. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused her of engaging with the ICC to investigate U.S. and Israeli nationals without consent and of expressing antisemitic sentiments.
Albanese claims the sanctions have severely impacted her family, affecting their banking access and travel. Her husband appealed the sanctions on behalf of their U.S. citizen daughter. A previous ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon favored the Albanese family, but the appeals court has since reinstated the sanctions, indicating skepticism towards the First Amendment argument.
David Keating from the Institute for Free Speech noted the complexity of the case, highlighting the unusual circumstances of Albanese's situation, including her daughter's citizenship and the fact that the speech in question occurred outside the U.S. Albanese has been a controversial figure, facing backlash for her statements regarding Israel and the Palestinian territories, including comments made during a speech at the Al Jazeera Forum.
Despite efforts to remove her from her position, Albanese began her second term as special rapporteur in May 2025 and will serve until 2028 unless intervened by the Human Rights Council.