A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from imposing fines and prison sentences on US human rights advocates for sharing evidence with the International Criminal Court (ICC) or working with Palestinian human rights groups targeted by US sanctions.
In a 30-page ruling on 13 October, Judge Jesse Furman of the Southern District of New York granted a preliminary injunction protecting Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), the Taxpayer Alliance Against Genocide (TAAG) and two TAAG members from penalties for their human rights advocacy.
The decision comes three months after the organizations sued the Trump administration, arguing that sanctions aimed at shielding US and Israeli officials from prosecution for war crimes and crimes against humanity violate Americans’ constitutional rights.
Under the sanctions, individuals could face up to 20 years in prison and $1 million in fines for providing prohibited services to sanctioned individuals or organizations.
Furman found that the sanctions likely violate the First Amendment because they restrict speech based on its content and cannot survive the demanding constitutional test applied to such restrictions.
DAWN called the ruling “a landmark victory for free speech.”
Omar Shakir, the Washington-based human rights group’s executive director, said the ruling had “put the brakes in a major way” on the administration’s “efforts to shield from justice the Israeli officials who have perpetrated a genocide and their US backers.”
