French court finds Swiss Islamic scholar Ramadan guilty of rape

Swiss Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan was sentenced on Wednesday to 18 years in prison by a Paris criminal court for the rape of three women.The verdict marks the latest fall from grace for the former Oxford University professor, who faces a string of rape allegations in Switzerland and France and has already been convicted in the former.A charismatic yet controversial figure in European Islam, Ramadan has always maintained his innocence.While he had been on trial in Paris since March 2 for rapes allegedly committed against three women between 2009 and 2016, Ramadan did not appear in court in person.His lawyer cited a “flare-up” of multiple sclerosis requiring hospitalisation in Geneva to explain his absence - but this was rejected by a court-ordered medical assessment.Presiding Judge Corinne Goetzmann said a warrant for the 63-year-old’s arrest had been issued. The court also barred the scholar from setting foot on French territory again after the end of his sentence.