Islamic scholar Ramadan to be tried for rape in Geneva

Ramadan is also involved in alleged rape cases in France. © Keystone / Martial Trezzini

Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan will have to stand trial in the Swiss city of Geneva next year accused of rape and sexual coercion.

Justice officials and lawyers of the parties confirmed that the 60-year old will be tried following four years of investigations.

The complainant, known as “Brigitte” by the media, accuses the scholar of having dragged her into a hotel room on the evening of October 28, 2008.

Converted to Islam, she had met Ramadan a few months earlier during a book signing, then during a conference.

In 2018, the Geneva prosecutor’s office opened an investigation following a complaint from a woman who accused Ramadan of abusing her in 2008 in a hotel in Geneva and of having confined her.

The woman claims that the scholar subjected her to brutal sexual acts, accompanied by blows and insults.

Innocence and relief

However, Ramadan’s lawyers argue that the public prosecutor’s office merely copied the complaint without integrating what disqualifies it. They said they are confident for their client and that the judges will restore his innocence.

For their part, the legal representatives for the plaintiff said their client is relieved by this indictment, which confirms her status as a victim and describes “the night of horror” she experienced.

Ramadan, a Swiss citizen, could also appear in court in neighbouring France. Last summer, the Paris prosecutor’s office requested a trial for suspected rapes committed between 2009 and 2016 on four women.