Tariq Ramadan accused of rape

Academic Tariq Ramadan, the grandson of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna, has been charged with rape, a judicial source said, and remains in custody.

Ramadan, 55, is being held on suspicion of raping a vulnerable person after two women accused him of violently attacking them in hotel rooms in Lyon and Paris in 2009 and 2012.

He was arrested on Wednesday as part of a preliminary investigation and, after two days of questioning by investigators, was brought before three judges who were in charge of the case, which he denies.

Henda Ayari, 41, accused Ramadan of raping her in a Paris hotel in 2012. According to Agence France Presse (AFP), as part of his defense, he presented investigators with conversations and evidence that could damage her credibility.

Another woman named “Christelle” accused the academic of raping and violently assaulting her in a hotel room in the southeastern city of Lyon in 2009.

On Thursday, “Christelle” described the incidents to the judge in Ramadan’s presence in a heated three-hour testimony in which Ramadan denied her allegations.

Ramadan denied her testimony and refused to sign the official summary of the report, sources familiar with the case said. “Both sides stuck to their positions,” a legal source said.

She revealed that Ramadan had a small scar in his groin area that was only noticeable upon close contact, a source said.

Police interviewed dozens of people close to Ramadan and the two women and examined email and social media exchanges between them.

On his Facebook page on October 28, Ramadan described the allegations as a “campaign of lies” by his “long-time enemies.”

In November, Oxford University announced that Ramadan, 55, had been placed on leave from his position as professor of contemporary Islamic studies “by mutual agreement.”

In a statement in November, Ramadan said: “Contrary to reports in the French-language press, I have requested a leave of absence by mutual agreement with the University of Oxford. This will allow me to devote my energies to my defense while respecting students’ need for a calm academic environment.”