Tariq Ramadan faces Swiss judges again in appeal trial
The 61-year-old Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan, who was acquitted of rape and sexual coercion, will be back before judges in Geneva on Monday. The public prosecutor's office and the plaintiff had appealed against the court’s decision last year.
As the judges of the correctional court were unable to determine the guilt of the accused “beyond all reasonable doubt,” they acquitted Tariq Ramadan at the end of a tense, high-profile trial. According to the criminal court, there was a lack of material evidence in the case.
The theologian was accused of rape by a woman, now aged 58, which allegedly occurred in October 2008 in a hotel room in Geneva. The plaintiff described a night of “beating,” during which she claims that Tariq Ramadan hit her, insulted her and sexually abused her for several hours.
More
Tariq Ramadan: Swiss court clears Islamic scholar of rape charges
Ramadan has always maintained his innocence, claiming never to have had a sexual relationship with the woman. During the trial, he explained that he had been the victim of a woman who had been rejected and hurt. The prosecution had requested a three-year sentence, of which 18 months would be in prison.
The appeal trial, which will take place in a small room at the Palais de Justice, is scheduled to continue until Wednesday. Judgement is not expected for several weeks.
Proceedings in France
Four women have also accused Tariq Ramadan of rape in France between 2009 and 2016. He has not yet been tried. At this stage, the public prosecutor has asked that only one charge of aggravated rape, involving violence, be retained. A decision is expected at the end of June on the continuation of the proceedings in France.
Ramadan is the grandson of the Egyptian founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan el-Banna. His father Saïd fled to Switzerland in 1954. Ramadan taught for a number of years in Geneva before becoming a public figure capturing the interest of a section of young Muslims with his speeches and oratory skills.
Adapted from French by DeepL/dkk/ac
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
More
Why Switzerland is among the ten fastest-warming countries in the world
More
In Switzerland four out of ten people have a migrant background – who are they?
More
Suicides in Switzerland quadruple among older people
More
French gangs target luxury cars in Switzerland
More
Renewed controversy in Switzerland over US fighter jets – explained
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.