Omar Bin Laden, one of late Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden's son, has been expelled from France due to social media posts advocating terrorism. According to France's Interior Minister, Omar was deported from a Normandy village, where he was living, after he was accused of glorifying terrorism on social media. The Al-Qaeda leader's son, however, claimed his innocence.
"I am today issuing an administrative ban on Mr. Omar Bin Laden, the eldest son of the international terrorist Osama Bin Laden. Bin Laden, who has lived in Orne for several years as the spouse of a British national, posted comments on his social networks in 2023 that were an apology for terrorism. As a result, the Prefect of Orne issued an OQTF and obtained Bin Laden's departure. The courts have confirmed the regularity of this decision taken for national security," French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said in a post on X on Tuesday.
Bin Laden had been reportedly living in Normandy with his wife since 2016. Retailleau did not detail when exactly Omar Bin Laden had been deported nor reveal where he was sent. The administrative ban ensures that Bin Laden cannot return to France, for any reason whatsoever, the Interior Minister added.
These measures reinforced another decision made by the Prefect of Orne — the French department where Bin Laden resided — to expel him from France, according to a report by Euro News.
Meanwhile, as per the French newspaper Le Parisien, Omar Bin Laden is now living in Qatar. As per the publication, Bin Laden had launched an appeal against his deportation, which was denied by French justice on Friday.
Bin Laden's Tweet
As per the Euro News report, a controversial tweet was posted by Bin Laden on 2 May 2023, the date of his father's birthday. “History is written only with the blood of these people — to tell the story of these martyrs who made history, built nations and brought glory. Their blood is the lifeline of our faith until judgment day. Rest in peace," read the post by now-deleted account @omarbinladin1.
Bin Laden was asked about the tweet during a podcast called "Hechos Reales," or True Facts. He said, "A person from another country managed to get the password of my Twitter account and posted a Tweet using my name. They were not my words. I reported the Tweet to Twitter and after a week or so, the account was thankfully blocked."
"I no longer have access to my Twitter account," he added, "so I was unable to remove it myself. I want to tell people I condemn terrorism and violence with all my heart", he added.
About Omar Bin Laden
Omar is the son of Osama bin Laden, the Saudi-born founder of the al-Qaeda terrorist group and the mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which killed almost 3,000 people in the biggest terror attacks on US soil in 2001.
Reports suggest the Saudi-born extremist had 24 children, although there is speculation about the exact figure.
Omar's grandfather Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of one of the wealthiest non-royal families in Saudi Arabia. Although Omar bin Laden was trained at Al-Qaeda camps, he reportedly left the terrorist organisation in 2000. In a 2008 interview with ABC News, he said, "My father is a very kind man... and he was very sorry when he did something like 11 September."