Swiss leading Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan arrives at Geneva's courthouse on May 29, 2024, for the final day of his appeal trial over charges of rape and sexual coercion. FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP
Switzerland's Supreme Court said on Thursday, August 28, that it had rejected an appeal by Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan against his rape conviction, but his lawyers said he would take the case to Europe's rights court.
"The Federal Court dismissed Tariq Ramadan's appeal against the conviction for rape and sexual coercion handed down by the Geneva Court of Justice," the high court said in a statement.
Ramadan's lawyers Yaël Hayat and Guerric Canonica said in a statement sent to Agence France-Presse (AFP) that "the defense takes note of the decision by the Federal Court and contests it." They added that "the final word will belong to the European Court of Human Rights."
After being acquitted in 2023, a Geneva appeals court last year found the 63-year-old former Oxford University professor "guilty of rape and sexual coercion" of a woman in a Geneva hotel 17 years ago. It sentenced him to three years in prison, two of which were suspended. The ruling marked the first guilty verdict against Ramadan, who faces a string of rape allegations in Switzerland and France. It was that verdict that the Supreme Court confirmed on Thursday.
