Son of Osama Bin Laden Deported From France After Posting ‘Apology for Terrorism’

Saudi painter Omar bin Laden, the fourth-eldest son of former Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, poses during an exhibition of some 30 of his artworks at the "Arielle Brocante" in Le Teilleul, France, on July 1, 2022. Jean-Francois Monier/AFP via Getty Images

The son of the late Islamist terrorist Osama bin Laden has been deported and banned from returning to France after his social media posts were deemed to glorify terrorism, according to the government.

On Tuesday, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said on the social media platform X that Omar bin Laden, who had been living in a quiet Normandy village since 2016, was expelled last year after posting an “apology for terrorism.”

Retailleau said he had signed an order banning bin Laden from France and that he had been deported, though he did not provide details about the deportation or where he was sent.

French newspaper Le Parisien reported that he now lives in Qatar. The newspaper said that last week, he lost a legal battle to overturn the ban on him returning to France.

Osama bin Laden

“I am today issuing an administrative ban on Mr. Omar bin Laden, the eldest son of the international terrorist Osama bin Laden. Mr. 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,” Retailleau said.

He added that bin Laden was subjected to a deportation measure by local authorities known as an “obligation to leave French territory.”

“The courts have confirmed the regularity of this decision taken for national security. The administrative ban on the territory guarantees that Mr. Bin Laden will not be able to return to France for any reason whatsoever,” he said.

The life of Omar bin Laden, an artist painting landscapes in Domfront-en-Poiraie, Normandy, contrasted sharply with his father, Osama bin Laden, a notorious figure in militant Islamism and once the West’s most wanted terrorist before being killed by U.S. Special Forces in 2011.

Omar bin Laden has sought to distance himself from the founder of al-Qaeda—responsible for numerous attacks against the United States and its allies, including 9/11.

Both Omar bin Laden and his mother left Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks and claim to have had no contact with Osama bin Laden since, according to a book they wrote.

The "FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive" poster for Osama Bin Laden with the word "deceased" printed in red across it, hangs on the wall at the FBI headquarters in Washington, on Nov. 26, 2013. Larry Downing/Reuters

Arab News reported on Omar bin Laden’s alleged tweet published on May 2, 2023, that coincided with the anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death.

However, The Epoch Times has not been able to locate the original social media post or confirm its content.

‘Father’s Actions’

The Epoch Times has not been able to reach Omar bin Laden for comment.

In 2022, he told France 3 in an interview that “sometimes people judge you on your father.”

He said that after five years in Afghanistan, when he was 19, he left his father and traveled through various Arab countries before settling in Normandy, France, in 2016.

“But here I feel very free. I feel free from the responsibility of my father’s actions. ... No one judges me, they respect me and I am left in peace,” he said.

“In France, I became an artist.”

According to Reuters, Osama bin Laden’s family once ranked among Saudi Arabia’s most powerful business families, but that changed as Prince Mohammed bin Salman grew in influence.