PARIS: A son of al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden has been barred from returning to France, where he lived for years painting landscapes in a Normandy village, after allegedly posting on social media comments considered to glorify terrorism.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said he had signed an order banning Omar bin Laden from entering France after the courts confirmed the legality of an earlier expulsion order issued for security reasons. national security.
Retailleau gave no details about the timing of the expulsion or where bin Laden was sent.
“Mr Bin Laden, who has lived for several years in Orne as the husband of a British national, published comments glorifying terrorism on his social networks in 2023,” Retailleau said on X.
“The administrative ban guarantees that Mr. Bin Laden will not be able to return to France for any reason.”
Omar could not be reached for comment.
Pascal Martin, who helped bin Laden sell his paintings, described him as a man opposed to extremist ideology, who lived from his works and paid his taxes. He was currently in Qatar, Martin said.
“We became friends and I can tell you that nothing that is said sounds like the Omar I know,” Martin said. Reuters.
According to the local weekly The Free PublisherBin Laden came to the attention of French authorities through a post on social media to mark his father’s birthday. Osama bin Laden was killed by US forces in 2011.
Reuters was not immediately able to locate the social media post. Martin said Omar told friends his social media account had been hacked.
The newspaper reported in July 2023 that police had searched for Bin Laden in the village of Domfort, Normandy.