Third rape case filed against Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan

PARIS: A 45-year-old woman filed a new rape case in France on Wednesday against Swiss academic Tariq Ramadan, the third against the Islamic studies professor, judicial sources said on Wednesday.

The woman accused Ramadan of violent sexual assault on multiple occasions between early 2013 and June 2014, according to the filing seen by Reuters.

Ramadan’s lawyers were not immediately available for comment.

Ramadan was ordered last month to remain in custody in France and was notified that he was the target of a full investigation into rape allegations, which he denied.

Ramadan is a grandson of Hasan al-Banna, a thinker and activist who founded the Muslim Brotherhood. He enjoys a substantial following among young Muslims and has challenged French restrictions on wearing veils

Earlier in February, the professor of Islamic studies, was ordered to remain in custody in France and notified that he was the target of a full investigation into rape accusations, a source with the prosecutor’s office said.

Ramadan, who denies the allegations, took temporary leave in November from his post at Britain’s University of Oxford.

He vowed to sue for slander two women whose rape accusations prompted a preliminary judicial inquiry.