Court orders former bin Laden aide brought back to Germany

BERLIN – A court in Germany ordered authorities Friday to bring back a former aide to Osama bin Laden — hours after he was deported to his native Tunisia on Friday.

Sami A., whose last name wasn’t given due to privacy laws, was flown to Tunis on a charter aircraft and handed over to Tunisian authorities, despite a court ruling blocking the move.

The administrative court in the western city of Gelsenkirchen had ruled Thursday that the man should remain in Germany until the government receives guarantees he won’t face torture in his homeland. But the fax informing authorities about the court’s decision was sent on Friday morning — after the man had already landed in Tunisia.

The Gelsenkirchen court subsequently told authorities to reverse the deportation at Germany’s expense, saying it had been “illegal and breached fundamental principles of rule of law.” The decision can be appealed.

Sami A. had lived for several years with his wife and children in the western city of Bochum. The 42-year-old, described as a former bodyguard to the al-Qaida chief, was deemed to be a dangerous Islamist by German authorities and taken into custody in June.