Swiss Islamic Scholar Tariq Ramadan Sentenced To 18 Years For Sexual Assault
Tariq Ramadan sentenced to 18 years in France for raping three women, following earlier Swiss convictions.
Swiss Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan was sentenced on Wednesday to 18 years in prison by a Paris criminal court for the rape of three women, marking a dramatic fall from grace for the former Oxford University professor. The verdict adds to Ramadan’s previous convictions in Switzerland, where he was sentenced in 2025 for the rape of a woman in Geneva.
Ramadan, 63, did not appear in the Paris court during the trial, which began on March 2, citing a claimed flare-up of multiple sclerosis that required hospitalization in Geneva. The court rejected this explanation following a medical assessment, and a warrant for his arrest was subsequently issued. In addition, the court barred him from returning to French territory after completing his sentence.
The trial centered on alleged assaults committed between 2009 and 2016. Throughout the proceedings, Ramadan maintained his innocence, while his lawyer argued health-related reasons for his absence. Presiding Judge Corinne Goetzmann confirmed the sentence and emphasized the severity of the crimes against the three women.
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Ramadan’s legal troubles extend beyond France. In 2025, Switzerland’s supreme court upheld his conviction for raping a woman at a Geneva hotel nearly two decades ago, confirming a three-year prison sentence, two of which were suspended. These rulings have severely tarnished the reputation of a scholar who was once a prominent voice in European Islam.
Before the allegations surfaced, Ramadan held the position of professor of contemporary Islamic studies at Oxford University and had visiting academic roles in Qatar and Morocco. His career suffered a major setback in 2017 when rape allegations emerged in France during the height of the “Me Too” movement, forcing him to take a leave of absence.
A charismatic yet controversial figure, Ramadan had long been influential in European Islamic thought. His convictions underscore a broader reckoning with abuse allegations in academic and religious institutions, and highlight the persistence of justice across national boundaries in high-profile sexual assault cases.
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