November 05, 2008
MADRID: One of Osama bin Laden's sons has asked for political asylum in Spain, months after he was refused permission to live in England with his British wife.
Omar bin Laden, a self-described pacifist, made the request on arriving at Madrid's Barajas airport on Monday on a flight from Cairo, where he currently lives, that had been en route to Casablanca in Morocco.
“He has asked for asylum. The law has been applied. He is being held in Barajas and the asylum commission, which has the legal capacity to decide if he should receive asylum or not, is analyzing the request,” Interior Minister Alfredo Perez told a press conference.
It was not known on what grounds the 28-year-old, who was traveling on a passport from Saudi Arabia, was seeking asylum.
Under Spanish asylum rules, the ministry has 72 hours to make a decision, and the petitioner has a right of appeal.
Omar flew to Madrid with his wife Zaina Alsabah bin Laden, 52, formerly known as Jane Felix-Browne, who he married last year, one year after they met in Egypt, a source close to Omar bin Laden told AFP.
The couple would prefer it if the media would not cover Omar's bid for asylum as it could hurt his chances of being accepted, the source added.
Authorities in Britain turned down a request in April from Omar for a settlement visa.
At the time he said he wanted to live in England with Zaina at her home in northwestern England in the village of Moulton, near Northwich in Cheshire.
The British embassy in Cairo said it had based its decision on fears that his presence in the country would cause “considerable public concern”.
It is thought the authorities were referring to comments made by Omar that he could not be certain that his father was responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States that killed over 3,000 people.
Asked during an interview with CNN in January if he knew his father was behind the attacks, Omar, who sported dreadlocks that dangled halfway down his back replied: “Yeah, maybe.”
Omar also declined to directly condemn his father during the interview but called on him to give up violence.
“I try and say to my father: `Try to find another way to help or find your goal. This bomb, this weapons, it's not good to use it for anybody',” he said.
He said he had not spoken to his father since 2000, when he walked away from an Al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan with Osama's blessings, and does not know where the al-Qa'ida leader is.
“My father told me, 'If this is what your choice - your decision - is, what can I tell you? I like you to be with me, but this is your decision.',” he said.
Saudi-Arabian-born Omar is the fourth of 11 children born to his father's first wife, and he is one of 19 children Osama bin Laden has fathered.
In a video broadcast in October 2004, just before the last US presidential elections, Osama bin Laden said he ordered the airline hijackings that hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
In 2004 Spain suffered one of Europe's deadliest attacks when bombs planted by Islamic extremists inspired by Al-Qaeda and angered by the country's participation in the US-led invasion of Iraq exploded on packed commuter trains in Madrid, killing 191 people.
MADRID: One of Osama bin Laden's sons has asked for political asylum in Spain, months after he was refused permission to live in England with his British wife.
Omar bin Laden, a self-described pacifist, made the request on arriving at Madrid's Barajas airport on Monday on a flight from Cairo, where he currently lives, that had been en route to Casablanca in Morocco.
“He has asked for asylum. The law has been applied. He is being held in Barajas and the asylum commission, which has the legal capacity to decide if he should receive asylum or not, is analyzing the request,” Interior Minister Alfredo Perez told a press conference.
It was not known on what grounds the 28-year-old, who was traveling on a passport from Saudi Arabia, was seeking asylum.
Under Spanish asylum rules, the ministry has 72 hours to make a decision, and the petitioner has a right of appeal.
Omar flew to Madrid with his wife Zaina Alsabah bin Laden, 52, formerly known as Jane Felix-Browne, who he married last year, one year after they met in Egypt, a source close to Omar bin Laden told AFP.
The couple would prefer it if the media would not cover Omar's bid for asylum as it could hurt his chances of being accepted, the source added.
Authorities in Britain turned down a request in April from Omar for a settlement visa.
At the time he said he wanted to live in England with Zaina at her home in northwestern England in the village of Moulton, near Northwich in Cheshire.
The British embassy in Cairo said it had based its decision on fears that his presence in the country would cause “considerable public concern”.
It is thought the authorities were referring to comments made by Omar that he could not be certain that his father was responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States that killed over 3,000 people.
Asked during an interview with CNN in January if he knew his father was behind the attacks, Omar, who sported dreadlocks that dangled halfway down his back replied: “Yeah, maybe.”
Omar also declined to directly condemn his father during the interview but called on him to give up violence.
“I try and say to my father: `Try to find another way to help or find your goal. This bomb, this weapons, it's not good to use it for anybody',” he said.
He said he had not spoken to his father since 2000, when he walked away from an Al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan with Osama's blessings, and does not know where the al-Qa'ida leader is.
“My father told me, 'If this is what your choice - your decision - is, what can I tell you? I like you to be with me, but this is your decision.',” he said.
Saudi-Arabian-born Omar is the fourth of 11 children born to his father's first wife, and he is one of 19 children Osama bin Laden has fathered.
In a video broadcast in October 2004, just before the last US presidential elections, Osama bin Laden said he ordered the airline hijackings that hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
In 2004 Spain suffered one of Europe's deadliest attacks when bombs planted by Islamic extremists inspired by Al-Qaeda and angered by the country's participation in the US-led invasion of Iraq exploded on packed commuter trains in Madrid, killing 191 people.
Source: The Australian
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