The family of United Nations human rights rapporteur Francesca Albanese has filed a lawsuit against the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump over sanctions imposed on her.

Albanese's husband and child filed the lawsuit on Thursday, arguing that the sanctions are an attempt to punish her for highlighting rights abuses by Israel against Palestinians.

Since 2022, Albanese, a legal scholar, has served as the special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, monitoring human rights violations against Palestinians. She was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council.

The Trump administration sanctioned her in July last year, calling her "unfit" for her role and accusing her of "biased and malicious activities" against the U.S. and its ally Israel.

The sanctions also relate to her work with the International Criminal Court (ICC), which, at her recommendation, issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes in Gaza.

Albanese's family defends her comments as free speech protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. "Francesca's expression of her views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and ICC work is core First Amendment activity," the lawsuit states.

The U.S. State Department dismissed the lawsuit as "baseless lawfare" and maintains that the sanctions against Albanese are "legal and appropriate." Sanctions typically freeze an individual's U.S.-based assets and prohibit others in the U.S. from doing business with them.

Since returning for a second term, Trump has used sanctions to penalize several critics of Israeli and U.S. actions, beyond just Albanese.

Source: www.aljazeera.com