Switzerland’s top court upholds Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan’s conviction for rape, sexual coercion

GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland’s highest court has upheld the conviction of noted Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan for rape and sexual coercion handed down by a regional court last year.

The federal court said Thursday it had rejected Ramadan’s appeal, which had alleged procedural flaws and an “arbitrary assessment” of the evidence examined by the appeals court in Geneva. That ruling had overruled an acquittal by a lower court.

The court decision included intimate details of Ramadan allegedly forcing a woman to have sex and preventing her from leaving a Geneva hotel room in October 2008, as well as social media exchanges they had before and after.

Defense lawyer Yaël Hayat on Thursday expressed “huge disappointment” at the decision and announced plans to refer the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

“This result is shocking and disturbing,” Hayat said by phone. “For us, there were flaws — or pitfalls in any case — that stood out and made it very clear that Tariq Ramadan was innocent. So obviously the fight continues.”

In September, the Geneva appeals court handed Ramadan, 63, a three-year prison sentence of which two were suspended. He was ordered to pay damages to the plaintiff as well as legal and other fees totaling more than 100,000 Swiss francs (about $118,000).

A lower court had previously cleared Ramadan, citing a lack of material evidence. The 2023 acquittal marked a first victory for the former Oxford scholar who fell from grace after accusations of rape and sexual assault in neighboring France in 2018.

Ramadan, who is Swiss, was handed preliminary charges for rape over two alleged assaults in France over a decade ago. He was jailed in February 2018 and released on bail nine months later, pending trial.

A third woman filed a rape complaint against him in France in March 2023.

The outspoken scholar has consistently denied wrongdoing and filed suits saying the allegations were false.