GENEVA: Tariq Ramadan’s lawyers pleaded Wednesday for the controversial Islamic scholar to be acquitted on the third and final day of his trial in Geneva on charges of rape and sexual coercion.
Prosecutors are seeking a three-year sentence for the former Oxford University professor, half served in jail and the other half suspended.
“I’m only looking for one thing and that’s to convince you that Tariq Ramadan is innocent,” his lawyer Yael Hayat told the Geneva Criminal Court, calling the allegations against his client “crazy.”
The 60-year-old is accused of raping a woman — a convert to Islam who appeared in court under the assumed name of Brigitte — in a Geneva hotel room in October 2008.
Ramadan, a charismatic yet controversial figure in European Islam, insists there was no sexual activity between him and Brigitte, saying he is the victim of a “trap.”
Her lawyer denounced what he called an act of “torture and barbarism,” as he sought to convince judges to convict Ramadan.
The judges will deliver their verdict on May 24.
Controversial among secularists who see him as a supporter of political Islam, Ramadan obtained his doctorate from the University of Geneva, with his thesis focused on his grandfather, who founded Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood movement.
He was a professor of contemporary Islamic studies at Britain’s prestigious Oxford University until November 2017, and held visiting roles at universities in Qatar and Morocco.
He was forced to take a leave of absence when rape allegations surfaced in France at the height of the “Me Too” movement, over suspected attacks in France between 2009 and 2016.
Defense pleads for Islamic scholar’s acquittal at Swiss rape trial
https://arab.news/5rrpk
Defense pleads for Islamic scholar’s acquittal at Swiss rape trial
- Ramadan is accused of raping a woman in a Geneva hotel room in October 2008
Palestine Action hunger strikers launch legal action against UK govt
- They accuse authorities of abandoning prison safety policies
- Several of the imprisoned activists have been hospitalized
LONDON: Hunger strikers from Palestine Action in the UK have launched legal action against the government, accusing it of abandoning the policy framework for prison safety, The Independent reported.
A pre-action letter was sent to Justice Secretary David Lammy by a legal firm representing the activists.
It came as several imprisoned members of the banned organization — including one who has refused food for 51 days — were hospitalized due to their deteriorating health while on hunger strike.
They say they have sent several letters to Lammy, who is also deputy prime minister, but have received no response.
He was urged in the latest letter to respond within 24 hours as the issue is a “matter of urgency.”
The letter added: “Our clients’ health continues to deteriorate, such that the risk of their dying increases every day.”
An “urgent meeting” is needed “with the proposed defendant to discuss the deterioration of our clients’ health and to discuss attempts to resolve the situation,” it said.
Seven of the Palestine Action prisoners have been admitted to hospital since the hunger strike was launched on Nov. 2, including 30-year-old Amu Gib and Kamran Ahmed, 28.
They are being held in prisons across the country. Two members of the group have been forced to end their hunger strike due to health conditions: Jon Cink, 25, ended on day 41, while 22-year-old Umer Khalid finished on day 13.
Gib, now on day 51, was hospitalized last week and reportedly needs a wheelchair due to health concerns.
Dr. James Smith, an emergency physician, warned journalists last Thursday that some of the imprisoned activists “are dying” and need specialized medical care.
In a letter signed by more than 800 doctors, Smith said the hunger strikers were at “very high risk of serious complications, including organ failure, irreversible neurological damage, cardiac arrhythmias and death.”
The strikers are demanding that Palestine Action, which is classified as a terrorist organization, be de-proscribed.
They are also urging the government to shut down defense companies with ties to Israel, among other demands.
In response to the latest letter, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We strongly refute these claims. We want these prisoners to accept support and get better, and we will not create perverse incentives that would encourage more people to put themselves at risk through hunger strikes.”
