A son of the late 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 lived for years in Normandy, in northern France, where he earns his living painting landscape portraits.
But the new Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau, said he had signed an order banning him from returning to France, accusing him of having written posts on social media last year that “glorified terrorism”.
Mr. Bin Laden left France in 2023 after his residence permit was revoked for two years by the authorities following these functions. French media reported that the dispute was over content marking the anniversary of his father’s death.
Mr Bin Laden has lived in France since 2016, obtaining a residence permit through his marriage to British citizen Zaina Mohamed Al-Sabah, née Jane Felix-Browne.
But Retailleau said the order now permanently bars Mr. Bin Laden from returning to France “for any reason whatsoever.” He is said to have returned to Qatar after his expulsion from France, where he previously lived with his wife.
Born in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Bin Laden is the fourth eldest son of the Al-Qaeda leader. He left his father in 2000 after training in jihadist camps in Afghanistan, telling his father he did not want to be associated with the killing of civilians.
He retained complex feelings toward the elder bin Laden in later years. His memoir, published in 2009, recounts growing up in often sordid situations as his father sought to escape international intelligence agencies.
Although he renounced his father’s violent acts around the world, he was also accused by some of being an apologist for Osama’s actions, describing him as a “kind” man who had followed a religious code and strict ethics.
After the death of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011, Omar bin Laden claimed that US special forces had “violated” international law by not allowing his father to have a proper burial. The al-Qaeda leader was buried at sea after his remains were brought back to a US base in Afghanistan for identification.
But his friends were quick to condemn his ban on entry into France on Tuesday. Pascal Martin, who helped Mr. bin Laden sell his paintings, told the Reuters news agency that he had completely renounced radical Islamism.
“We became friends and I can tell you that nothing that is said sounds like the Omar I know,” he told the outlet.
Interior Minister Retailleau has a reputation as one of the most right-wing members of the new government led by conservative Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
After his appointment in August, he pledged to reduce immigration to “fight political Islam.” Critics said Retailleau’s arrival at the Interior Ministry was a clear example of “the reactionary right taking power”.
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