Geneva Islamic scholar Ramadan convicted of rape

In the ruling, which became public on Thursday, the Federal Supreme Court rejected the accusation of arbitrary assessment of the complainant's evidence. The judges in Lausanne also rejected Ramadan's complaints regarding procedural irregularities.

"The complaints raised by the appellant do not show that the Geneva judgment was based on an arbitrary assessment of the evidence or on untenable facts," the Federal Supreme Court ruled. There were no indications of a violation of the presumption of innocence.

Victims' lawyers are satisfied

"This is an enormous relief and the end of a long ordeal and struggle for our client and her lawyers. She has conducted this discreetly and without hatred, with exceptional courage and dignity," said her lawyers Robert Assaël, François Zimeray and Véronique Fontana.

Normally, the Federal Supreme Court sits with three judges, with a few exceptions. Given the importance of the case and the high stakes involved, five experienced judges had dismissed the convicted man's almost 150-page appeal in a remarkably well-reasoned 33-page ruling, they emphasized.

Ramadan is not giving up

"The defense takes note of the Federal Court's decision and challenges it. This assessment contradicts the judgment of the Geneva Criminal Court of 24 May 2023, which acquitted Mr. Ramadan of all charges brought against him," reads a statement from the Islamic scholar's lawyers, Yaël Hayat, Guerric Canonica, Loïc Parein and Théo Badan.

"The final decision now lies with the European Court of Human Rights," they added.

In 2024, the Geneva Cantonal Court had sentenced Ramadan to three years in prison, one of which was suspended. The judges had come to the conclusion that the Islamic scholar was guilty of raping and sexually assaulting a woman with whom he had met in a Geneva hotel in October 2008.

A night of beatings

The victim reported a night in which she was beaten, insulted and sexually abused for several hours. The woman explained that the Islamic scholar threw her onto the bed, sat astride her and punched her in the face.

A year earlier, Ramadan had been acquitted at first instance. The judges at the criminal court were unable to establish the defendant's guilt "beyond reasonable doubt". In their opinion, there was a lack of sufficient material evidence in the case.

Accusations also in France

Ramadan is also being prosecuted in France. There, four women are also accusing him of rape between 2009 and 2016. His trial is due to take place in Paris in March 2026.

Ramadan is a grandson of Hassan al-Banna, a co-founder of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. He advocates a European-Muslim identity. His father Saïd fled to Switzerland in 1954. Ramadan taught at several schools in Geneva between 1984 and 2004. (Judgment 6B_816/2024 of July 22, 2025)