LONDON – A suspected Islamist radical who once served as Osama bin Laden’sbodyguard, was detained in Germany on Monday, police said. The case of theTunisian man, Sami A., sparked outrage in April after German media reportedthat he was receiving welfare benefits even though intelligence agencieshave classified him as a potential threat.
Authorities in the western city of Bochum had asked police to detain SamiA. and the man did not resist, a spokesman for police there said.Top-selling newspaper Bild reported, without citing its sources, that SamiA. was now due to be deported.Play Video47m
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Police could not confirm that, pointing instead to authorities in Bochum. Aspokesperson for the city of Bochum could not be immediately reached.Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has ordered immigration authorities toexpedite proceedings that would allow Germany to deport Sami A.
German authorities have been trying to deport the man, who has lived in thenorthwestern city of Bochum since 1997, since 2006 but the threat oftorture in his home country had prevented this, according to a previousreport in Bild.