A court in Paris has sentenced Swiss Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan to 18 years in prison after finding him guilty of raping three women.
The case dates back to 2017, when two of the women first came forward during the global Me Too movement. The court described the crimes as extremely serious, emphasizing that consent to sex does not mean consent to all acts.
Ramadan, a former professor at Oxford University, did not attend the trial, with his lawyers saying he is receiving treatment for multiple sclerosis in Geneva. He has consistently denied all allegations and is calling for a retrial, describing the proceedings as unfair.
One of the victims, writer Henda Ayari, said the verdict marked the end of years of suffering and spoke about the courage it took to come forward. The accusations include incidents in Paris and Lyon, while a separate conviction in Switzerland relates to a case in Geneva.
French authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Ramadan and are also seeking a permanent ban from French territory. However, enforcing the sentence could prove complicated, as Switzerland does not have an extradition treaty with France.
The ruling is one of the most high-profile outcomes of Me Too-era cases in Europe and is likely to reignite debate over accountability, due process, and how cross-border justice is handled.
