Hyderabad, May 14 -- A US federal court has temporarily suspended sanctions imposed on UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese by the Trump administration, in a ruling seen as a major setback for Washington's measures against the outspoken critic of Israel's war in Gaza.

Albanese announced the decision on X Thursday, May 14, saying the judge ruled that "protecting the freedom of speech is always in the public interest".

The order was issued by US District Judge Richard Leon, who said the sanctions likely violated Albanese's First Amendment rights. In the court opinion, Leon wrote that the government could not penalise speech simply because it disagreed with the views being expressed.

"Albanese has done nothing more than speak," the ju...