Image Source: AL Monitor
A Paris criminal court has sentenced Swiss-Egyptian Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan to 18 years in prison for the rape of three women in France between 2009 and 2016, in one of the most high-profile #MeToo trials in French legal history, as reported in Le Monde.
The verdict was delivered in absentia – Ramadan did not appear before the court, citing a multiple sclerosis flare-up. The court rejected this claim.
The Charges and Sentence
Judge Corinne Goetzmann cited the “extreme seriousness of the acts” in handing down the sentence, which represents the maximum-level punishment available. In addition to the custodial term, the court imposed:
- 8 years of socio-judicial supervision post-release
- A 10-year ban on civil and civic rights
- A permanent ban from French territory
One of the three rape charges was classified as “rape of a vulnerable person,” relating to a victim with a disability. One victim testified she experienced “a fear of imminent death” while being strangled during the assault.
Background and Prior Convictions
Ramadan, 63, is the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, the founder of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood. He served as a professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University’s St Antony’s College before being suspended in 2017 following #MeToo-era allegations against him.
This Paris verdict is not his first criminal conviction. Switzerland’s Supreme Court in 2025 upheld a conviction against Ramadan for raping a woman in a Geneva hotel in 2008, sentencing him to three years, of which one year was custodial.
Enforcement Uncertain
Despite the 18-year sentence, enforcement remains legally uncertain. Switzerland, where Ramadan currently resides, has no extradition treaty with France, meaning the arrest warrant issued by the Paris court may not be executable.
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