Tariq Ramadan's rape acquittal overturned by Swiss appeals court

Grandson of Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan Al Banna must serve one year in prison

Tariq Ramadan arrives at Geneva's courthouse in May before his appeal trial over charges of rape and sexual coercion. AFP

A Swiss appeals court has found former University of Oxford professor Tariq Ramadan guilty of rape and sexual coercion in a Geneva hotel 15 years ago, overturning an earlier acquittal, the government said on Tuesday.

The court sentenced the 62-year-old to three years in prison, one of which must be served, after reversing the lower court's decision from May last year.

“The Criminal Appeal and Review Division found that several testimonies, certificates, medical notes and opinions of private experts aligned with the complainant's testimony,” the Geneva canton's government said.

The ruling, which was issued on August 28 but not made public until Tuesday, is likely to be subject to an appeal at Switzerland’s highest court.

Ramadan, who is the grandson of Hassan Al Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, obtained his doctorate from the University of Geneva, with a thesis focused on his grandfather.

He was a professor of contemporary Islamic studies at Oxford University in the UK until November 2017, and held visiting roles at universities in Qatar and Morocco.

But he was forced to take a leave of absence when several sexual assault allegations were made against him in France at the height of the “Me Too” movement. The assaults were alleged to have taken place between 2009 and 2016.

In the Swiss case, Ramadan's accuser, a Muslim convert identified in court only as “Brigitte”, had testified before the court that he subjected her to rape and other violent sex acts on the night of October 28, 2008, after meeting her at a book signing.

The lawyer representing Brigitte said she was repeatedly raped and subjected to “torture and barbarism”.

Ramadan said that Brigitte invited herself up to his room. He let her kiss him, he said, before quickly ending the encounter.

Author Tariq Ramadan at Al Rahma mosque in Nantes, western France. Reuters

He claimed to be the victim of a “trap”.

Brigitte, who was in her forties at the time of the alleged assault, filed a complaint 10 years later, telling the court she felt emboldened to come forward after the complaints filed against Ramadan in France.

The lower court last year acquitted Ramadan of rape and sexual coercion, citing a lack of evidence, contradictory testimonies and “love messages” sent by the plaintiff after the alleged assault.

But during their appeal, Brigitte's lawyers alleged that Ramadan had exercised significant “control” over the woman, suggesting she had suffered something akin to Stockholm syndrome.

The three appeals court judges pointed to “witness testimony, certificates, medical notes and private expert opinions consistent with the facts presented by the plaintiff”.

“Elements collected during the investigation have thus convinced the chamber of the guilt of the accused,” the court said.

Ramadan's defence team is currently fighting a Paris appeals court decision in June that the French cases can go to trial.