A US federal judge has temporarily blocked Trump administration sanctions against UN Palestine expert Francesca Albanese, ruling the measures likely violated constitutional free speech protections.

A federal judge in Washington, DC on Wednesday temporarily blocked Trump administration sanctions targeting United Nations Palestine expert Francesca Albanese, ruling that the punitive measures violated her First Amendment rights.

“Albanese has done nothing more than speak!” wrote US District Judge Richard Leon, a George W Bush appointee, in his 26-page decision granting a preliminary injunction against the sanctions, which US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last summer. Rubio said the sanctions, which barred the UN expert from entering the US and banking in the........

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