A Paris court has sentenced prominent Islam scholar Tariq Ramadan to 18 years in jail for raping three women, two years after he was given a jail term for a separate rape offence in Switzerland. The French rape case unfolded in 2017, when two of the three women came forward during the #MeToo campaign against sexual abuse and harassment.
Ramadan, a 63-year-old former professor of Islamic studies at St Antony's College in Oxford, did not attend the trial in Paris, although he has always denied the charges. His lawyers stated he was receiving treatment in Geneva for multiple sclerosis and condemned the trial as a farce. Judge Corinne Goetzmann noted a warrant had been issued for Ramadan's arrest; however, Switzerland does not have an extradition treaty with France. Additionally, he is facing a permanent ban from French territory.
The court justified the 18-year sentence due to the 'extreme seriousness' of the acts. Judge Goetzmann emphasized that 'consenting to sex does not imply consenting to any sexual act whatsoever.' Leaving the courthouse, one of the victims, Henda Ayari, expressed relief that the judges believed her, reflecting on her 'nine years of suffering and struggle.'
Ayari detailed her experience in 2012, stating Ramadan had attacked her 'like a wild animal.' The second accuser claimed she was assaulted in a hotel in Lyon in 2009, while a third woman reported a similar incident in Geneva in 2008. Ramadan has reacted to the verdict, insisting on the need for a new trial. He stated to Le Parisien that health issues prevented him from attending the trial but argued that an arrest warrant complicates any potential for a retrial in France.
Ramadan, a 63-year-old former professor of Islamic studies at St Antony's College in Oxford, did not attend the trial in Paris, although he has always denied the charges. His lawyers stated he was receiving treatment in Geneva for multiple sclerosis and condemned the trial as a farce. Judge Corinne Goetzmann noted a warrant had been issued for Ramadan's arrest; however, Switzerland does not have an extradition treaty with France. Additionally, he is facing a permanent ban from French territory.
The court justified the 18-year sentence due to the 'extreme seriousness' of the acts. Judge Goetzmann emphasized that 'consenting to sex does not imply consenting to any sexual act whatsoever.' Leaving the courthouse, one of the victims, Henda Ayari, expressed relief that the judges believed her, reflecting on her 'nine years of suffering and struggle.'
Ayari detailed her experience in 2012, stating Ramadan had attacked her 'like a wild animal.' The second accuser claimed she was assaulted in a hotel in Lyon in 2009, while a third woman reported a similar incident in Geneva in 2008. Ramadan has reacted to the verdict, insisting on the need for a new trial. He stated to Le Parisien that health issues prevented him from attending the trial but argued that an arrest warrant complicates any potential for a retrial in France.
