His assets have been frozen for six months, according to the decree published on Sunday in the official French government bulletin and reported on Tuesday by the Lyon Capitale magazine. This is within the framework of an article of the Monetary and Financial Code targeting “natural or legal persons, or any other entity that commits, attempts to commit, facilitates, finances, incites or participates in acts of terrorism”.
He has two months to contest the freezing of his assets, said the decree, made jointly by the economy, finance and interior ministries.
Contacted by the Swiss News Agency, Ramadan said he was the victim of “political posturing”, adding that the freezing of his assets was pointless as he didn’t have any assets in France, not even a bank account. He said he had contacted his lawyer to work out a response to give to the French authorities.
Ramadan’s name was one of 16 on a list of foreign nationals sentenced for or suspected of having links to a terrorist organisation or of carrying out propaganda for such an organisation.
Ramadan, who in April 2017 was barred from France and escorted by police to the Swiss border, is the elder brother of Tariq Ramadan, also a Geneva-born Islamic scholar who is currently being held in custody in France for allegedly raping several women. He has formally contested the charges.
The French Interior Ministry said last April that Hani Ramadan had “in the past adopted behaviour and made remarks posing a serious threat to public order on French soil”.
Controversies
A scholar, teacher and imam born in Geneva, Hani Ramadan, 59, is one of six children. His family fled from Egypt to Switzerland following the assassination of their maternal grandfather, Hassan Al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. Ramadan has been director of the controversial Islamic Centre of Geneva since 1995 and leads canton Geneva’s Union of Muslim Organisations.
Ramadan came to attention on September 10, 2002, when French daily newspaper Le Monde published a column he penned titled “The misunderstood Sharia”, in which he defended the stoning of adulterers, saying it was not as cruel as one might think. He also suggested that HIV was a divine punishment. The controversy that arose from the column’s publication let to Ramadan’s immediate dismissal from his teaching position.
Ramadan has also incited controversy with several anti-Israeli statements denouncing conspiracies by the Jewish state. For example, shortly after the Paris terrorist attacks of November 13, 2015, he wrote on his blog, hosted by the Tribune de Genève: “Islam has nothing to do with any of this […] Let’s start by looking at Mossad [Israel’s secret service]”.
More
More
Ramadan admits to relationship with rape accuser
This content was published on
Swiss scholar Tariq Ramadan has admitted he had relations with one of the five women who have accused him of rape. The woman involved is a 45-year-old French national and former escort who was also cited in the Lille Carlton case involving former French Socialist Party minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who has since been acquitted. She…
Swiss forests better equipped against storms 25 years after Lothar
This content was published on
Twenty-five years after Hurricane Lothar wreaked havoc in Switzerland, the country’s forests are better prepared, experts say.
Media: Swiss medical services done abroad are billed at Swiss rates
This content was published on
In Switzerland, some medical services carried out abroad are still billed at Swiss rates, despite costing less, RTS reports.
This content was published on
Sophie Hediger, a member of the Swiss national snowboard cross team, has died in an avalanche in Arosa. She was 26 years old.
This content was published on
Several Swiss films exceeded the 100,000 admissions mark worldwide in 2024 and received widespread praise at international film festivals.
Swiss Alpine resorts covered in white gold for Christmas
This content was published on
Many areas at low altitudes in Switzerland are enjoying a blanket of snow. In the mountains, intense precipitation has delighted skiers.
SWISS makes emergency landing in Austria after smoke in cockpit
This content was published on
Swiss International Airlines (SWISS) made an emergency landing of an Airbus in Graz, Austria on Monday evening after engine problems.
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.
Read more
More
Progressive Muslim campaigner faces defamation probe
This content was published on
Swiss prosecutors have opened an investigation into the liberal Islam critic Saida Keller-Messahli over libel allegations against a controversial Islamist preacher.
Bern opens criminal proceedings in Muslim hate preacher case
This content was published on
A judicial enquiry has been opened in Bern against Muslim preacher Abu Ramadan, who allegedly delivered a sermon replete with hate speech in 2017.
This content was published on
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.
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.