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Alleged bin Laden bodyguard blacklisted for re-entry, claims newspaper report

DPA/The Local
DPA/The Local - [email protected]
Alleged bin Laden bodyguard blacklisted for re-entry, claims newspaper report
The administrative court which banned the deportation of Sami A. Photo: DPA

The scandal over the deportation of Sami A., an alleged former bodyguard of Osama Bin Laden, continued on Monday with authorities reportedly blacklisting the 44-year-old Tunisian from entering Germany.

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The criminal investigation department of North-Rhine-Westphalia placed Sami A. on a list of unwanted persons in the Schengen Information System, effectively banning him from re-entry into Germany or other Schengen states, the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger reported on Monday.

The newspaper reported that the criminal investigation department was acting on the request of the immigration office in Bochum, where Sami A. had been living.

His deportation caused outrage last month after an administrative court in Gelsenkirchen declared it to be illegal. The 44-year-old, they argued, potentially faced torture in his home country.

In a dramatic turn of events, the court order barring the deportation reportedly reached the relevant authorities only after Sami A. was already in the air on a flight to Tunisia.

READ ALSO: Court rules to bring deported 'bin Laden bodyguard' back to Germany

The court then ordered that the state pay for Sami A.’s immediate return, a decision appealed by the city of Bochum. The deadline for the appeal is midnight on Monday, after which judges are expected to make a swift decision.

A. was released from a Tunisian prison on  July 27th after two weeks in custody following his deportation. The authorities have retained his passport.

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