Foreign Affairs

French Court Refuses To Release Oxford Islamic Scholar Accused Of Rape

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A French court refused to grant the release request of an Oxford Islamic scholar accused of multiple rapes and sexual assault.

Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss national and prominent scholar of Islam at Oxford University, requested release from French prison on medical grounds after his recent hospitalization, but French authorities said his condition was not dire enough to merit release, according to The Associated Press. French authorities arrested Ramadan in January in relation to accusations from two women who say Ramadan forced himself on them in French hotels.

Ramadan faces rape charges in both cases, the first of which allegedly happened in 2009 and the other in 2012. Ramadan denies all allegations, including those of one other woman and four of his former pupils. Oxford University announced that Ramadan would take a mutually agreed upon leave, prior to his arrest, in order to deal with the allegations. Ramadan has filed a lawsuit for libel against French media and announced that he would soon file a lawsuit against his accusers.

“He literally pounced on me like a wild animal,” said Henda Ayari, one of the women accusing Ramadan. “He kissed me really hard… then for a few seconds he choked me, I really thought I was going to die.”

Ramadan is also the grandson of Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna.

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