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Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan sentenced to 18 years in prison
A Paris court handed down an 18-year jail term to prominent Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan on Thursday for the rape of three women, adding to a prior Swiss conviction for a separate assault.
Case details and verdict
The trial, held in absentia, concluded that Ramadan, 63, committed the crimes between 2009 and 2012. Two of the three accusers came forward in 2017 during the global #MeToo movement, which exposed widespread sexual abuse and harassment.
Judge Corinne Goetzmann described the acts as of "extreme seriousness" and emphasized that "consenting to sex does not imply consenting to any sexual act whatsoever." The court also issued an arrest warrant for Ramadan, though Switzerland, where he is currently located, does not extradite to France.
Reactions from accusers and legal team
One of the complainants, Henda Ayari, told reporters outside the courthouse that the verdict marked the end of "nine years of suffering and struggle." She recounted how Ramadan had "literally pounced on me like a wild animal" in a 2012 hotel encounter, a statement she first made publicly in 2017.
Ayari also acknowledged other victims who had not come forward or had withdrawn complaints due to threats. A second woman testified that Ramadan raped her in a Lyon hotel in 2009, while a Swiss case involved an assault in Geneva in 2008.
"I have been thinking about all the other victims-those who had the courage to file a complaint like me, but also those who could not summon the strength, and those who withdrew because of threats and reprisals."
Henda Ayari, accuser
Ramadan's response and legal challenges
Ramadan, a former professor of Islamic studies at Oxford University's St Antony's College, did not attend the trial. His legal team argued he was receiving medical treatment in Geneva for multiple sclerosis and dismissed the proceedings as a "farce."
In a statement to Le Parisien, Ramadan called for a "new trial, a trial with both parties present" and vowed not to "let this decision stand." He insisted his absence was due to health reasons, not a refusal to participate, noting he had assembled a legal team.
However, legal experts say a retrial is unlikely without Ramadan's voluntary pre-trial detention in France, given the active arrest warrant.
Broader context and claims of persecution
Ramadan, the grandson of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna, has long maintained the allegations against him are part of a "campaign of slander." In his Le Parisien interview, he claimed he was the target of a political effort "to remove a Muslim intellectual."
The court also imposed a permanent ban on Ramadan entering French territory.
