(Bobigny) Mehran Karimi Nasseri, Iranian political refugee who lived for more than 18 years at Paris’ Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport and inspired director Steven Spielberg for his film The Terminaldied there on Saturday, AFP learned from an airport source.
Posted yesterday at 9:45 a.m.
He died a natural death shortly before noon on Saturday at terminal 2F, the source told AFP.
After having largely spent the money collected for the film, he had returned for a few weeks to the airport, added the same source. Several thousand euros were found on him.
Born in 1945 in Masjed Soleiman, in the Iranian province of Khuzestan, Mehran Karimi Nasseri, known as “Sir Alfred”, had taken up residence in Roissy, north of Paris, in November 1988, after a long journey – to the search for his mother – who had taken him to London, Berlin or even Amsterdam.
Each time, he had been expelled by the authorities, for lack of being able to present papers.
In 1999, he obtained refugee status in France and a residence permit.
At Roissy, he had become familiar with the airport staff and an emblematic figure, being the subject of numerous television and radio reports, French and foreign, before the cinematographic consecration.
In 2004, Tom Hanks performed his role in The Terminal directed by Steven Spielberg. After the film, he would have lived in a hostel in Paris.