By Micah Jonah
February 27, 2026
The family of United Nations human rights rapporteur, Francesca Albanese has filed a lawsuit against the administration of US President, Donald Trump over sanctions imposed on her.
Albanese, an Italian legal scholar, has served since 2022 as the UN special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, monitoring human rights abuses against Palestinians. The Trump administration sanctioned her in July 2025, calling her “unfit”, accusing her of biased activities against the US and Israel.
Her family argues that the sanctions are retaliation for Albanese highlighting Israeli rights abuses in Gaza and for her work with the International Criminal Court, which issued arrest warrants against Israeli officials for alleged war crimes. The lawsuit stresses that Albanese’s statements are protected under the US First Amendment and questions the use of sanctions to punish human rights defenders.
Albanese’s critics, including the Israeli government and its US allies, have long condemned her public statements. In March 2024, she declared to the UN that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe genocide standards had been met in Gaza. Since then, she has faced threats and scrutiny.
The lawsuit also raises concerns about Albanese’s US-based family, including her American daughter, highlighting the personal impact of the sanctions. The US State Department dismissed the lawsuit as “baseless lawfare” and defended the sanctions as “legal and appropriate.”
Rights groups and international organizations continue to call for accountability in Gaza, while Albanese insists she remains committed to justice despite the personal and professional consequences of her activism.
