Omar bin Laden, son of Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, has been expelled from France, where he lived for years painting landscapes in a Normandy village, and banned from returning, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said on Tuesday, the 8th of October, due to posts he made on his social media pages in 2023 that allegedly contained messages “praising terrorism”, reports Politico.
French law prohibits “favourable coverage or comment on terrorism in general or on terrorist acts already committed”.
“Mr bin Laden, who has lived in the Orne region for several years as the spouse of a British citizen, posted comments praising terrorism on his social networks in 2023,” Retailleau said on X.
According to a report previously published by local newspaper Le Publicateur Libre, on the 2nd of May 2023, the 12th anniversary of the death of Osama bin Laden, a message was posted on X under the username “@omarbinladin1” which paid tribute to the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center in New York.
Bin Laden’s son was subsequently formally investigated, but at the time he said the charges against him were based on “false information”, the report said.
Bin Laden left France in October 2023 after being ordered to leave, the French Interior Ministry added. At the time, bin Laden’s residence permit, which he had obtained through his wife’s British citizenship, was revoked and the 43-year-old was banned from entering France for two years.
Last Friday, a French court rejected bin Laden’s appeal against an order to leave the country.
Following the court’s decision, Retailleau announced an “administrative travel ban” which “ensures that Mr bin Laden cannot return to France for any reason,” he said.
Retailleau, a hardliner in France’s new right-wing government, has attracted attention with provocative statements and policies since taking office in September. He has promised to reduce immigration, fight “political Islam” and argued that the French rule of law is neither “intangible nor sacred”.
Bin Laden settled in France in 2016. In a 2022 interview with French television, he described his newfound passion for painting and said he felt “absolved of responsibility” for his father’s actions.