Daijiworld Media Network - Paris

Paris, Mar 26: A criminal court in Paris has sentenced Swiss Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan to 18 years in prison for the rape of three women, marking a dramatic turn in the career of the once prominent academic.

The verdict follows a trial that began earlier this month, relating to assaults allegedly committed between 2009 and 2016. Ramadan, a former professor at University of Oxford, did not appear in court, with his lawyer citing a medical emergency linked to multiple sclerosis. However, a court-ordered medical review dismissed the claim.

Presiding judge Corinne Goetzmann confirmed that an arrest warrant has been issued against the 63-year-old. The court also ruled that he would be barred from entering France after serving his sentence.

Ramadan, once considered a leading voice in European Islam, has consistently denied all allegations.

The case adds to his legal troubles in Switzerland, where the Supreme Court in 2025 upheld his conviction in a separate rape case. He had been sentenced to three years in prison, with two years suspended, for an assault that took place in a Geneva hotel nearly two decades ago.

Ramadan had held several academic positions internationally, including visiting roles in Qatar and Morocco, before stepping down in 2017 when allegations against him first emerged during the Me Too movement.