New slander case brought against Tariq Ramadan

Tariq Ramadan speaking in Geneva, in 2011. Keystone / Martial Trezzini

A Swiss woman who accused the Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan of rape in 2018 has now launched a new legal case against him, this time for slander.

The case centres around Ramadan’s book “Devoir de verité” (“The Responsibility of Truth”), published in September this year, in which the Swiss scholar gives his take on the sex allegations and legal controversies involving him over the past two years.

In one section of the book, public broadcaster RTS reports, Ramadan talks about the incident with the Swiss woman, who he identifies by a pseudonym.

Ramadan says that the woman initially did not want to bring a case against him – rather she just wanted to “criticize his behaviour”, he claims. He goes on to say that pressure and financial incentives from others encouraged her to take the case to the courts.

In the new proceedings, however, the woman accuses Ramadan of slander, saying that the accusation that she was pressured or bribed is “damaging to her honour”.

Legal webs

All this further complicates a legal situation in which the original complaint by the Swiss woman – she accused Ramadan of raping her in a Geneva hotel in 2008 – has still not come to a conclusion.

This is partly due to the fact that Ramadan was in prison in France when the charges were brought in April 2018. It’s also due to the court proceedings launched by Ramadan’s lawyers demanding that the woman not speak publicly about the case (judges rejected the plea).

Ramadan was imprisoned in France in February 2018 after two rape allegations led to criminal investigations. A third allegation was later filed. The scholar is also accused of having had inappropriate relations with students while teaching at a Geneva school.

Ramadan denies all allegations against him. He was released from prison in France last November but is prohibited from leaving the country while cases remain pending.