Judge criticizes German officials over radical’s deportation

BERLIN – A judge is accusing German authorities of testing the limits of the law in the deportation to Tunisia of a suspected former aide to Osama bin Laden.

The 42-year-old, identified only as Sami A. in line with German privacy rules and deemed a dangerous Islamic radical by local authorities, was deported July 13. A court had ruled he should remain in Germany until it receives guarantees that he won’t face torture in Tunisia, but a fax informing authorities arrived when he was already in the air.

Courts later ordered him brought back to Germany, to officials’ annoyance — most recently North Rhine-Westphalia state’s top administrative court Wednesday.

That court’s chief justice, Ricarda Brandts, told news agency dpa that “the limits of the state of law were clearly tested here.”