US Treasury removes UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese from sanctions list
A federal court ruling initially placed financial and travel penalties on Albanese after she published a 60-page report targeting major American technology corporations
The United States Treasury Department has removed Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories, from its sanctions list.
The update, published on the Treasury Department's website, comes one week after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction to halt the economic restrictions, citing constitutional violations by the executive branch.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control did not provide an official explanation for the delisting, which effectively restores Albanese's access to the global banking infrastructure and lifts her travel restrictions to the United States.
The reversal follows a civil complaint filed in February by Albanese’s husband, Massimiliano Cali, a senior economist for the World Bank. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the family, argued that the sweeping financial penalties had "debanked" them, leaving them unable to use credit cards, manage daily living expenses, or access frozen assets without due process.
US District Judge Richard Leon ruled in favor of the family, temporarily blocking the penalties. In his opinion, Judge Leon emphasized that Albanese's residency outside of the United States does not disqualify her from First Amendment protections.
He concluded that the administration had explicitly sought to penalize and suppress disfavored expression due to the message expressed, noting that Albanese’s recommendations to international bodies carry no binding legal weight and constitute protected opinion.
The Trump administration initially levied the sanctions against Albanese under an executive order targeting individuals who cooperate with or prompt International Criminal Court investigations into US or Israeli personnel.
The punitive measures were triggered after Albanese published a 60-page report targeting major American technology corporations, including Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, accusing them of economic complicity in Israel's military actions in Gaza.