Swiss appeals court convicts Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan of rape, overruling lower court

GENEVA: A Swiss appeals court has found noted Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan guilty of rape and sexual coercion nearly 16 years ago and sentenced him to a year in prison, overruling an acquittal by a lower court.

In a written ruling made public on Tuesday, the court in Geneva handed Ramadan, 62, a three-year prison sentence of which two were suspended, according to a copy of the decision. He was ordered to pay damages to the plaintiff as well as legal and other fees totalling more than 100,000 Swiss francs (about USD 118,000).

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

Ramadan can appeal to Switzerland's highest court.

The verdict comes roughly nearly 17 months after a lower court cleared him, citing a lack of material evidence.

The original acquittal marked a first victory for the former Oxford scholar with a worldwide reputation who had a brutal fall from grace after similar accusations in neighbouring France in 2018.

Ramadan faces potential trial in France over allegations by several other women that emerged more than five years ago.

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 last year.

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