Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

New evidence weakens Ramadan’s alibi

A picture of Tariq Ramadan
The Swiss scholar was imprisoned in February over rape allegations in France. Keystone

The organisers of a conference attended by Swiss-born academic Tariq Ramadan have contradicted his statement that he was on a plane to the event at the time one woman accuses him of raping her.

The Union of Young Muslims, which organised the September 2009 conference, produced an itinerary during a court hearing which weakened Ramadan’s defence and alibi, according to reports from Agence France-Presse (AFP).

In response to the allegations of a woman who claimed to have been raped during the afternoon of that conference, Ramadan’s first lawyers – who later withdrew from the case – produced an airline ticket indicating that Ramadan had only landed in Lyon at 6:35pm.

+ Third woman in France accuses Ramadan of rape 

But during a court hearing in France, the current president of the Union of Young Muslims said Ramadan’s office had requested in a second e-mail that he arrive on an earlier flight.

“Mr Ramadan was scheduled to arrive in Lyon on October 9, 2009 at 11:15am. A colleague and I picked him up at the airport at around 11:35,” Yassine Djemal told investigators.

He added that they subsequently dropped off the Islamic theologian at the Hilton hotel where the rape allegedly took place.

If this itinerary is accurate, it would have allowed for several unaccounted hours in Ramadan’s defence’s timeline.

The Swiss scholar was imprisoned in February over rape allegations in France, wherein two women’s complaints led to a criminal investigation last October. A third rape allegation was filed in February.

+ Read more about the accusations against Ramadan

In addition, Ramadan is accused of having had inappropriate relations with several students whilst teaching at a Geneva-area school. The institution has launched an investigation.

Ramadan denies all allegations against him.

More
Tariq Ramadan

More

Geneva launches Ramadan school probe

This content was published on The role of the canton’s education department in the affair will also be probed following allegations that some students had raised the alarm between 1984 and 2004 when the Islamic scholar taught in the area. Ramadan is currently in prison in Paris facing three accusations of rape. In November a Swiss newspaper reported allegations of…

Read more: Geneva launches Ramadan school probe

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Swiss Armed Forces have around 147,000 personnel

More

Number of Swiss armed forces exceeds specified limit

This content was published on The Swiss armed forces had an effective headcount of around 147,000 as of March 1, 2024. This exceeds the upper limit of 140,000 specified in the army organisation by 5%.

Read more: Number of Swiss armed forces exceeds specified limit
Two men charged by the MPC with money laundering

More

Two Swiss men charged with money laundering

This content was published on One million francs, 34 million euros and around 830 kilos of gold: this is the fortune that two Swiss nationals are accused of having moved across borders for at least four years.

Read more: Two Swiss men charged with money laundering
Richemont reports lower first-half results

More

Richemont reports lower first-half results

This content was published on Geneva-based luxury goods group Richemont reported a downturn in performance for the first half of its 2024/25 financial year. Both sales and profit declined.

Read more: Richemont reports lower first-half results

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR