Bana’s grandson tried by French courts for rape

Shaimaa Hefzi

A French court has ruled to fine grandson of Muslim Brotherhood founder, Hassan al-Bana, for revealing the name of one of the women who accused him of rape previously. This is the first ruling to indict Tareq Ramadan.

Lawbreaking

The court ruled to fine Ramadan $3,000 for revealing the name of the victim in a book he released in 2019 and during a television interview.

The ruling was based on a French law that protects presumed victims against revenge or harassment.

The same court fined Ramadan and the publisher of his book an additional 5,000 Euros in compensation for the damage happening to the woman.

Cornerstone

The woman said she had failed in suspending the publication of the book. Nonetheless, the revelation made in the book turned into a cornerstone of a major campaign against her by Ramadan’s supporters, she said.

The woman accused Ramadan of raping her in a hotel room in the southwestern French city of Léon in 2009.

Her accusation came a short time after another woman accused Ramadan of raping her. Two women leveled the same charge against the grandson of al-Bana later.

Grandson

Ramadan is the grandson of al-Bana. He was a professor at Oxford University. However, the university administration forced him to take leave after the emergence of the aforementioned rape accusations in 2017.

Last month, public prosecutors accused Ramadan of rape for the fifth time.

Ramadan denies, however, all these charges. He came later to concede that he used to have sexual relations outside the framework of marriage.

He conceded that he had sex with two women in France who had accused him of raping them earlier. Nevertheless, he said relations with these women were made upon their consent.