A panel of federal judges ruled yesterday that the government did not infringe upon a war protester’s First Amendment rights when it fined her for traveling to Iraq to act as a human shield for potential bombing targets in 2003.

The protester, Judith Karpova, visited Baghdad and Basra with other activists in order to draw attention to the potential bombing of civilian targets, which she alleged had occurred in the first Gulf War.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury fined her upon her return — not for her protest activities, but for conducting financial “transactions” while in Iraq, including buying food. The transactions violated the government’s economic sanctions on Iraq that were in place at the time, the government said.

Ms. Karpova sued the Department of the Treasury, saying the fine violated her First Amendment freedom of speech, but a federal district court denied her plea in October 2005.

Yesterday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan affirmed the ruling, deciding that the government had a right to regulate international travel.

“Although the constitutional right to travel within the United States is virtually unqualified, the right to travel internationally … does not itself overcome the weighty foreign policy concerns that may support travel restrictions.” Judge Richard Cardamone wrote for the court.