November 09, 2008
EGYPTIAN police are questioning Osama bin Laden's son Omar at Cairo airport today to decide whether to let him back into the country after a failed bid for political asylum in Spain.
"He's still at the airport," an airport official said of the Saudi-born 27-year-old who had been living in Egypt.
"Police are looking into his case, to know if he can stay in Egypt or not."
Spain yesterday definitively turned down bin Laden's request for political asylum after he said his life was in danger in the Middle East because he is a pacifist.
Omar, one of the 19 children of the fugitive founder of the al-Qaeda terror group, had appealed against Spain's refusal on Wednesday to grant him asylum, which he asked for shortly after arriving in Madrid on a flight from Cairo.
But Spanish authorities deemed that his security was not in danger and he returned to Cairo late yesterday.
His British-born wife Zaina Alsabah bin Laden condemned what she said had been a "political decision", adding that the couple had been trying to raise money to fly to New Zealand instead of returning to Egypt.
Spain's interior ministry said Wednesday's decision to turn down the asylum claim was in line with the opinion of the UN refugee agency.
"Our reasons for leaving Egypt and coming to Spain had nothing to do with any actions of the Egyptian government," the bin Ladens said in a statement issued while they were in Spain.
"We are most grateful to the Egyptian government and the lovely Egyptian people.
"They graciously showed us every kindness, more than any country in the world, in fact. There were outsiders working within Egypt which created genuine concern for Omar's safety. That is the only reason we left Egypt."
Omar bin Laden, who has a Saudi passport, is the fourth child from Osama bin Laden's first marriage. His wife, 52, whom he married in 2007, is British, having changed her name from Jane Felix-Browne.
In April he was refused permission to live in Britain because of the alleged trouble his arrival might cause.
He says he has not spoken to his father since 2000, when he decided to leave a training camp in Afghanistan, with Osama bin Laden's consent.
EGYPTIAN police are questioning Osama bin Laden's son Omar at Cairo airport today to decide whether to let him back into the country after a failed bid for political asylum in Spain.
"He's still at the airport," an airport official said of the Saudi-born 27-year-old who had been living in Egypt.
"Police are looking into his case, to know if he can stay in Egypt or not."
Spain yesterday definitively turned down bin Laden's request for political asylum after he said his life was in danger in the Middle East because he is a pacifist.
Omar, one of the 19 children of the fugitive founder of the al-Qaeda terror group, had appealed against Spain's refusal on Wednesday to grant him asylum, which he asked for shortly after arriving in Madrid on a flight from Cairo.
But Spanish authorities deemed that his security was not in danger and he returned to Cairo late yesterday.
His British-born wife Zaina Alsabah bin Laden condemned what she said had been a "political decision", adding that the couple had been trying to raise money to fly to New Zealand instead of returning to Egypt.
Spain's interior ministry said Wednesday's decision to turn down the asylum claim was in line with the opinion of the UN refugee agency.
"Our reasons for leaving Egypt and coming to Spain had nothing to do with any actions of the Egyptian government," the bin Ladens said in a statement issued while they were in Spain.
"We are most grateful to the Egyptian government and the lovely Egyptian people.
"They graciously showed us every kindness, more than any country in the world, in fact. There were outsiders working within Egypt which created genuine concern for Omar's safety. That is the only reason we left Egypt."
Omar bin Laden, who has a Saudi passport, is the fourth child from Osama bin Laden's first marriage. His wife, 52, whom he married in 2007, is British, having changed her name from Jane Felix-Browne.
In April he was refused permission to live in Britain because of the alleged trouble his arrival might cause.
He says he has not spoken to his father since 2000, when he decided to leave a training camp in Afghanistan, with Osama bin Laden's consent.
Source: The Australian
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