Bin Laden's son lived in Normandy as an artist, he is expelled from French territory

Based in Orne since 2016, Omar Bin Laden, son of the former head of Al-Qaeda, was expelled from French territory by Bruno Retailleau after comments “constituting an apology for terrorism” in 2023.

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has spoken this Tuesday, October 8, 2024 an "administrative ban from the territory", against Omar Bin Laden, son of the terrorist Osama Bin Laden, former head of Al-Qaeda, on his account X.  "Mr. Binladin, who has been living in Orne for several years as the spouse of a British national, hosted on his social networks in 2023  remarks relating to the apology of terrorism (…) The administrative ban from the territory guarantees the impossibility “for Mr. Binladin to return to France for any reason whatsoever,” declared the tenant of Place Beauvau.

This ban on Omar Bin Laden residing in France comes in addition to a decision. Indeed, the prefect of Orne issued an Obligation to Leave French Territory (OQTF), as recalled by Bruno Retailleau this Tuesday, by obtaining the departure of Osama Bin Laden's fourth son. At 43, the latter had been living in Domfront-en-Poiraie (Orne) since 2016.

Last May, according to information from Actu Normandie, he had relayed remarks defending terrorism, on the day of the tenth anniversary of his father's death on a Twitter account that has now been closed, he has always denied the facts. “History is only written with the blood of these people – to tell the story of these martyrs who have marked history, built nations and brought glory. Their blood is the lifeline of our faith until the day of judgment. “Rest in peace,” he wrote on Twitter.

From Al-Qaeda camps to the Normandy countryside

Omar Bin Laden was born in Saudi Arabia in 1981, where he spent his early years. He followed his father into exile in Sudan from 1991 to 1996, then in Afghanistan, before being trained in Al-Qaeda camps at the age of 14. In the early 2000s, he fled Afghanistan and the two men drifted apart, with the son running a metal reselling business until 2006. That same year, he married Jane Felix-Browne. The couple settled in Jeddah before heading to the United Kingdom. In 2008, his application for a UK visa renewal was rejected, so he decided to settle in Qatar.

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In an interview with Le Point in 2021, Omar Bin Laden said he was in “total disagreement” with his father. He notably claims that September 11 had “ruined his life”. His time in the Al-Qaeda camps had a profound impact on him. He indicated in the columns of the newspaper a profound disagreement with his father, Osama Bin Laden: “It was you who I rejected, because I am not an aggressive person. “I could never have done that. You can fight when there is nothing left to discuss, but you always have to discuss first,” he explains.

Having settled in Normandy for eight years, Omar Bin Laden accompanies his wife, a British national, to France. “He often travels from England to France.” He stated in our columns that he wanted to open a restaurant in Domfront-en-Poiraie” and “loves horses”, reports Actu Normandie. The eldest son Osama Bin Laden was also known since his arrival in France as a painter, a discipline that he sees as a therapy.

Painter in Orne, “a quiet guy”

He organized several exhibitions, and he sometimes spoke in the media, such as during a meeting with France 5. During the interview, he showed his works to the channel's journalist, mentioning for example “the mountains” that he saw “while walking with his father”. “Here (in Normandy), I feel very free. I feel free from the responsibility “I am not judged by my father's actions (…) No one judges me, I am respected and left alone,” he told AFP in 2022. Those around him described him as “a calm, quiet guy (…) he is simply looking to integrate into a new community and start a new life among us,” says Harry, one of his friends in a report made by by BFMTV in 2021.

During the lockdown, Omar Bin Laden indicated that he had taken up painting thanks to his wife on France 3 Normandie: “We were at home, not doing much. My wife was painting and I thought I should try it.” “A painting becomes a part of yourself,” he explained during an exhibition at Teuilleul in Manche, the same year with France 3.