is the son of one of the most notorious monsters of the modern age, but until recently he was making a peaceful living in the Orne region of Normandy painting landscapes – a far cry from the atrocities perpetrated by his father on Sept 11 2001. However, the 43-year-old has now been banned from returning to France by the nation’s new Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau, who accused him of writing social media posts “glorifying terrorism”. Omar was forced to leave the country in 2023 when his residency permit was revoked, after the social media account @omarbinladin1 on X (formerly Twitter) reportedly posted a message on the 12 anniversary of , paying tribute to him; the account has since been suspended.
Omar claimed the accusations were based on “false information”. He had gained his residency permit through his union with Jane Felix-Browne, a grandmother 24 years his senior and a parish councillor from Moulton in Cheshire, who changed her name to Zaina Mohammed Al-Sabah following their marriage in 2007. He had previously tried to settle in the UK, but was stopped by British authorities; instead they settled in France in 2016, but seem to have outstayed their welcome.
This latest dispute gets to the heart of the complex relationship that Omar, and several other members of the bin Laden family, have with the as they rebuild their lives. The bin Ladens are known as “the Kennedys of Jeddah” in Saudi Arabia for their combination of extreme wealth and scandalous tra.
