Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan acquitted in Swiss rape trial

A Swiss court on Wednesday acquitted Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan on charges of rape and sexual coercion, finding no evidence against the former Oxford University professor. The plaintiff’s lawyers immediately vowed on Wednesday to appeal the verdict in the case heard in the Geneva Criminal Court. Ramadan, 60, was accused of raping a Swiss woman in a Geneva hotel in 2008.

The Swiss-born scholar was arrested in 2018 months after several women came forward to accuse him of sexual assault in the wake of the #MeToo movement. He was granted bail in those cases after nearly 10 months in French detention.Ramadan has consistently denied all accusations. He is the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, the founder of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.