
Published October 9, 2024
A son of the al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has been banned from returning to France, the country’s interior minister has announced.
Omar Bin Laden, 43, has spent years living in Normandy in the north of France, where he has earned a living painting landscape portraits.
But new Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said he signed an order barring him from returning to France, accusing him of authoring social media posts last year which “glorified terrorism”.
Mr Bin Laden left France in 2023 after his residency permit was revoked for two years by officials in the wake of the posts. French media reported that the dispute related to content marking the anniversary of his father’s death.
Mr Bin Laden has lived in France since 2016, earning a residency permit through his marriage to UK citizen Zaina Mohamed Al-Sabah – born Jane Felix-Browne.
But Retailleau said the order now permanently banned Mr Bin Laden from returning to France “for any reason whatsoever”. He reportedly returned to Qatar after his expulsion from France, where he had previously lived with his wife.
Born in Saudi Arabia, Mr Bin Laden is the al-Qaeda leader’s fourth-oldest son. He left his father’s side in 2000 after training at jihadist camps in Afghanistan, telling father that he did not want to be associated with the killing of civilians.
He retained complex feelings towards the elder Bin Laden over the following years. His memoir, published in 2009, recalled growing up in often squalid conditions as his father sought to evade international intelligence agencies.
While he renounced his father’s acts of violence across the globe, he has also been accused by some of being an apologist for Osama’s actions, referring to him as a “kind” man who had followed a strict religious and moral code.
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SOURCE: www.bbc.com
RELATED: Osama bin Laden’s son banned from returning to France, says minister
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said Omar bin Laden was ordered to leave over posts on social media ‘advocating terrorism.’ Now living in Qatar, the painter has previously denied being the author of the posts.

Saudi painter Omar bin Laden, the fourth-eldest son of former Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, poses during an exhibition of some art in Le Teilleul, western France, on July 1, 2022. JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP
Published October 9, 2024
French authorities ordered Omar bin Laden, a son of slain al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, to leave the country over posts on social media, France’s interior minister announced on Tuesday, October 8.
Omar bin Laden had been living in France’s Normandy region but left the country in October 2023 after French authorities withdrew his residency papers and ordered him out, the Interior Ministry said. At the time, authorities also barred him from returning to France for two years, the ministry added.
In a message posted on X on Tuesday, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said he imposed an additional ban to ensure that Omar bin Laden “will not be able to return to France for any reason whatsoever.” The minister said that the jihadist’s son “posted comments on his social networks in 2023 that advocated terrorism.”
“As a result, the prefect of Orne issued an order to leave French territory,” Retailleau said. “The courts have confirmed the legality of this decision taken in the interests of national security,” he added.
Later Tuesday, the Orne prefecture in northern France said Omar bin Laden, a national of Qatar, had lived in the town of Domfront-en-Poiraie since 2018.
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SOURCE: www.lemonde.fr