Overview
- The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control re-added Francesca Albanese to its Specially Designated Nationals list on Wednesday, May 27, restoring U.S. asset freezes and broad prohibitions on transactions with U.S. persons.
- A three‑judge panel of the D.C. Circuit issued an administrative stay that paused U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s May injunction blocking the sanctions, and the appeals court said the stay is procedural and not a decision on the merits.
- Judge Leon had granted the preliminary injunction on May 13, finding the sanctions were likely to infringe on free‑speech protections by penalizing Albanese for public advocacy urging ICC investigations.
- The reimposed designation has immediate practical effects for Albanese and her family, including restricted access to U.S. banking, limits on travel tied to the U.S., and the loss of routine financial services that underlie the family’s civil lawsuit.
- The case raises wider questions about whether the U.S. can use sanctions to punish a U.N. expert’s overseas speech, how constitutional rights apply to non‑resident foreign nationals, and how this fits into a broader U.S. campaign targeting ICC‑linked actors.