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TARIQ RAMADAN

Third woman in France accuses Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan of rape

A third woman in France has accused prominent Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan of rape, a month after he was indicted over similar charges and remanded into custody, judicial sources told AFP on Wednesday.

Third woman in France accuses Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan of rape
Photo: AFP

The French Muslim woman, who wants to remain anonymous and uses the pseudonym “Marie”, claims to have suffered multiple rapes in France, Brussels and London between 2013 and 2014.

She has accused Ramadan, 55, of subjecting her to violent and sexually degrading acts during a dozen meetings, often in hotels at the sidelines of conferences.

“Marie tried in vain to escape the influence of Mr Ramadan who did not stop threatening her,” according to a judicial source, discussing the period
between February 2013 and June 2014.

Ramadan, a prominent TV pundit and Oxford University professor whose grandfather founded Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood movement, was detained on
February 2 over charges he raped two Muslim women in France, which he denies.

French authorities ordered Ramadan to be placed in custody after he was charged, judging him a flight risk.

His lawyers unsuccessfully proposed handing over his Swiss passport, bail of 50,000 euros ($62,000) and daily check-ins at a police station to secure his release.

A professor of contemporary Islamic studies at Oxford, Ramadan has been on leave since November after the allegations emerged.

One of European Islam's best known figures, he has dismissed theĀ  accusations against him as a smear campaign by his enemies and his lawyers
argue there are inconsistencies in the women's accounts.

His supporters — including two million Facebook followers — have lashed out angrily at his arrest, with many complaining that he has been unfairly targeted because he is Muslim.

TARIQ RAMADAN

Swiss scholar Tariq Ramadan released from French jail

Tariq Ramadan, a leading Islamic scholar held in France since February on charges of raping two women, was released on bail Friday after he persuaded judges he was not a flight threat.

Swiss scholar Tariq Ramadan released from French jail
Tariq Ramadan in a 2012 file photo. Photo: AFP

The 56-year-old Swiss academic, who took leave of his teaching post at Oxford University late last year to fight the rape claims, won bail on his fourth request to be freed from Fresnes prison near Paris.

He denies charges he raped a disabled woman identified in media reports as “Christelle” in 2009 and a feminist activist, Henda Ayari, in 2012.

But last month Ramadan was forced to rescind his claim he had no sexual contact at all with the women after an expert recovered 399 text messages between him and “Christelle”, some of which detailed violent sexual fantasies.

Ramadan subsequently admitted to what he called “consensual” sexual contact.

The 56-year-old has also been accused of raping a woman in Switzerland but has yet to be formally charged in that case.

His bail was set at 300,000 euros and he was required to hand over his passport.

He must report to police in the Paris area once a week and refrain from contacting his accusers.

The allegations against the married father of four, whose grandfather founded Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, surfaced at the height of the #MeToo movement late last year.

READ ALSO: Rape-accused scholar Ramadan loses latest bid to be freed from French jail

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