Wednesday May 24, 2023
A Swiss court on Wednesday found renowned Islamic studies expert Tariq Ramadan not guilty in a case of rape and sexual coercion brought by a citizen who accused him of raping him in a Geneva hotel in 2008.
The woman told the court that Ramadan sexually assaulted her in a brutal manner by beating and insulting her, which he denied although he admitted meeting the woman.
Ramadan - a Swiss citizen and grandson of Hassan al-Banna, the founder of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood - invited the plaintiff to his hotel room for coffee after the conference.
If convicted, the 60-year-old scholar would face three years in prison.
Amid rising anti-Muslim sentiment in Europe and terrorism, Ramadan has been a voice of reason condemning terrorism and opposing the death penalty. He was once even denied entry to Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Libya and Syria because, he said, he criticized their lack of democratic behavior.
Ramadan was Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world. In 2007 he became Professor of Islamic Studies at St Anthony's College, Oxford. He has many critics, especially in France, where a number of leading academics accuse him of anti-Semitism.
In a blow to his reputation, a French woman accused him of rape in 2017. As the case became public, more women came forward. As of 2020, five rape charges have been brought against him, four in France and one in Switzerland. He also spent nine months in custody in France before being released on parole.
According to media reports, the situation in the courtroom was tense, with a number of cameras facing him outside the court.
The plaintiff explained the alleged attack in detail and said she feared she would die.
He admitted inviting her to his hotel room but denied any form of violence. All the allegations against him were politically motivated and designed to discredit him, he said.
Ramadan's lawyers objected to the veracity of the prosecutor, who highlighted inconsistencies surrounding the dates of the alleged attack.
His family supported him in his arguments. Pointing to his father's "role in the debate about Islam in France", Sami, his son, told the BBC in 2019 that the cases against his father were "motivated by other reasons which we consider to be political".
A similar view was supported by a number of influential people, including the well-known philosopher Noam Chomsky and the British filmmaker Ken Loach, who signed an open letter in which they doubted whether Ramadan was on trial with the usual presumption of innocence.
In his own remarks to the court, Ramadan asked not to be tried for his "real or perceived ideology".
Three Swiss judges found him not guilty after three weeks of deliberations, but in France, prosecutors are analyzing whether the charges against Ramadan should go to trial.
He continues to be consistent in arguing that he is innocent in all cases and has vowed to clear his name.
