Opinion - News Analysis   

Spain expels Osama’s son

A son of Osama bin Laden who was seeking asylum in Spain has been deported after his final appeal failed, the Spanish authorities and one of his lawyers said on Saturday. Omar Osama bin Laden, 27, one of 19 children of Osama bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaeda, applied for asylum last week after arriving at the Barajas International Airport in Madrid on a flight from Cairo. He argued that his life was in danger, his lawyer in Spain, Bianca Sharma, said.

However, the government denied Omar bin Laden’s initial petition and his appeal, according to Ms Sharma and an Interior Ministry spokeswoman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, as is customary. He and his British wife, Jane Felix-Browne, flew back to Cairo on Saturday afternoon, Ms Sharma said.

The spokeswoman said that Omar bin Laden had not met the criteria for asylum. However, Ms Sharma said the couple had received many death threats because of his father. “Their lives are in grave danger in any Arab country,” she said. Spain receives about 5,000 asylum petitions a year and accepts about 8 per cent of them, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. — New York Times News Service

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Mission perfect
Only the first step
Coming to terms with Barack Obama
India and the G-20 Washington summit
Which McCain will return to Senate?
Arkansas blocks adoption by unmarried couples
Spain expels Osama’s son
Obama’s victory
Cause for concern
System vulnerabilities, human failings

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu