Paris, March 2, (dpa/GNA) – A trial has opened in Paris over allegations that Swiss Islamic scholar and preacher, Tariq Ramadan, raped three women.
The alleged offences are said to have taken place between 2009 and 2016 in Lyon and Paris. The 63-year-old has already been in custody for 10 months.
Ramadan has consistently denied the allegations, although he later acknowledged having contact with the women, who described him as manipulative, dominant and violent. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of aggravated rape.
Ramadan did not appear in court at the start of the trial on Monday. He suffers from multiple sclerosis and was admitted to a clinic in Geneva on Saturday, his defence lawyer explained.
A medical certificate was presented, the newspaper Le Figaro reported.
Because Ramadan had thus violated the judicial requirement to stay in the greater Paris area, the public prosecutor’s office applied for an arrest warrant against the preacher.
Ramadan had already been sentenced to a fine in France for revealing the identity of one of the plaintiffs.
In Switzerland, the well-known Islamic scholar was convicted of rape and sexual assault in another case in August 2024.
GNA