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Egypt denies entry to bin Laden’s son, sends him to Qatar

Egyptian authorities denied entry to one of Osama bin Laden’s sons and put him on a plane to Qatar on Sunday, becoming the third nation to reject the self-proclaimed “ambassador for peace,” an airport security official said.

Omar Osama bin Laden, 27, and his British wife arrived at Cairo International Airport over the weekend after he unsuccessfully tried to seek political asylum in Spain, claiming he would not be safe if he returned to an Arab country. The couple had lived in Egypt for the past year.

One of the al-Qaeda leader’s 19 children, Omar Osama bin Laden caused a tabloid storm last year after he married Zaina Alsabah, a British citizen.

Alsabah, 52, said after they arrived in the Gulf Arab country of Qatar that the two were looking to eventually move to bin Laden’s native Saudi Arabia.

“We are staying here as long as it takes, we are working with the UN and the US embassy to help us get back to Saudi Arabia,” she said. “I was very surprised at the Egyptian government’s stance.”

Egyptian authorities at the airport denied the couple entry on Sunday, sending them instead to Qatar, a security official said.

As a Saudi national, bin Laden automatically gets a six-month residency in Egypt, but an airport security official said after his high profile decision to apply for asylum in Spain, he was no longer welcome.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Alsabah has said the couple applied for asylum in Spain because they had been threatened.
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