The German city of Bochum was facing a fine on Wednesday after the passing of a midnight deadline to fetch a man suspected of once serving as a bodyguard to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden back from Tunisia, where he was deported over two weeks ago.
Sami Aidoudi, who is classed as a "Gefaehrder," or potential risk to the public by German authorities, was deported to his home country on July 13, despite a court in Gelsenkirchen ruling against it the previous day.
The ruling wasn't communicated until Aidoudi's plane was already in the air and the court then set an ultimatum for his return.
On Tuesday, a higher court rejected Bochum's argument that it could not fetch him back as he was being investigated by authorities in Tunisia, which has also confiscated his passport.
The court in Munster ruled the city had made "no effort whatsoever" to retrieve Aidoudi and that it could "not be taken for granted that such efforts would be futile."
A lawyer for Aidoudi said on Tuesday that she would demand Bochum pay the 10,000-euro (11,700-dollar) fine immediately after the deadline had passed.
Aidoudi is suspected of having received terrorist training in Afghanistan and involvement in radical activities in Germany but had fought his deportation for years arguing that he could be tortured in Tunisia.
He was detained for 15 days following his arrival there last month but released on Friday after the maximum period of provisional detention ended. Tunisian authorities have confirmed he remains under investigation.
