Swiss Court Acquits Islamic Scholar Tariq Ramadan Of Rape And Sexual Charges

Ramadan has been awarded approximately 151,000 Swiss francs in compensation from the Swiss canton of Geneva regarding the case.

Swiss leading Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan. ( Image Source :Getty )

Prominent Swiss academic and Islam scholar Tariq Ramadan was acquitted of charges of rape and sexual coercion on Wednesday, May 24, as a Swiss court found no evidence against him.

According to The Telegraph, Ramadan, a former professor at Oxford University, was also granted approximately 151,000 Swiss francs (£135,113) in compensation by the Swiss canton of Geneva in relation to the case.

Upon hearing the verdict, the 60-year-old Swiss preacher smiled and was embraced by one of his daughters. Meanwhile, the accuser, identified by the pseudonym "Brigitte," left the courtroom before the verdict's conclusion, as reported by AFP.

Ramadan faced up to three years in prison if convicted. He denied all the charges, but did admit to having met the woman, as per BBC.

The case involved allegations made by a Swiss woman who claimed that Ramadan had raped her in a Geneva hotel in 2008. The woman, a convert to Islam, testified that she had endured a brutal sexual assault, physical violence, and verbal abuse. She stated that the incident occurred after Ramadan invited her for a coffee following a conference when he was an Oxford academic.

Who Is Tariq Ramadan?

Tariq Ramadan, 60, is a prominent figure in the Islamic world and the grandson of Hasan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

Ramadan has been recognized for his condemnation of terrorism and opposition to the death penalty, making him a voice of reason in the modern Islamic sphere. However, his criticism of the lack of democracy led to him being denied entry to several countries, including Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Syria.

In 2004, Time magazine included Ramadan in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world. He served as a professor of Islamic studies at St Anthony's College, Oxford from 2007 until November 2017. Ramadan has also held visiting roles at universities in Qatar and Morocco.

While he has garnered respect, Ramadan has also faced criticism, particularly in France, where some prominent academics accused him of anti-Semitism.

Ramadan's career took a significant turn in 2017 when he was accused of rape by a French woman. This accusation was followed by additional allegations of sexual assault from multiple women, coinciding with the global #MeToo movement. He was arrested in 2018 and spent nearly 10 months in French detention before being granted bail