A Geneva court has sentenced Tariq Ramadan, an internationally recognized Islamic scholar and grandson of Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, to three years in prison. This sentence came after the court overturned a previous acquittal in a case involving allegations of sexual assault against a new Muslim convert from Switzerland.
The court found the 62-year-old professor guilty of assaulting a woman in a hotel room 16 years ago, an incident that took place in 2008. The victim, who had sought to learn about Islamic teachings from Ramadan, alleged that their hotel meeting led to sexual assault and subsequent harassment by him.
Previously, a court had acquitted Ramadan due to inconsistencies in testimonies and insufficient evidence. However, the victim, referred to under the pseudonym Brigitte to protect her identity, successfully appealed the decision, resulting in the current conviction.
Ramadan was a prominent European intellectual figure and a professor at Oxford University, contributing to the Faculty of Contemporary Islamic Studies for over a decade. His reputation took a significant hit after a series of sexual violence allegations began with an incident in France in 2009, followed by accusations from four French women and the 2018 case.
Following these allegations, Oxford University suspended him from his teaching duties. Ramadan has denied the allegations, although he admitted in 2018 to having a consensual sexual relationship with one of the French accusers.
Ramadan has also publicly struggled with mental health issues, including depression. He took early retirement in 2020 and revealed the identities of his accusers during a book launch and television appearance. A French court fined him 10,000 euros and sentenced him to two months in prison for this action, although he was released on bail due to good conduct.
