Arrest warrant against Tariq Ramadan: Why the French justice system refuses the postponement

The Paris Criminal Court has ordered the arrest of the 62-year-old Islamic scholar, who has been hospitalized in Geneva since the end of February for complications related to multiple sclerosis. Although he was discharged from the hospital on Thursday, his treating neurologist felt that he was not in a condition to appear before the court.

Faced with the court’s refusal to postpone the proceedings, which were scheduled to last four weeks, the four defense lawyers left the bench. For Me Ouadie Elhamamouchi, quoted by Anadolu, this is a "denial of justice" that violates the fundamental right of an accused to attend his own trial.

The defense particularly criticizes the choice of the court-appointed expert who assessed the defendant’s condition. The latter, having concluded that he was capable of immediate appearance, would be in "open conflict" with Tariq Ramadan since 2018, a partiality denounced by his lawyers, who evoke a flawed procedure. A tense trial marked by accusations of rape

Tariq Ramadan was to respond to the rape allegations made by three women. Already tried in Switzerland, where he was acquitted at first instance before being convicted on appeal, he is now seeking a review of the Swiss procedure as well as additional information concerning the French part of the case.

The intellectual denounces a relentlessness linked to his public profile. "I sometimes had the impression that it is not a man who is being judged, but rather what he represents," he recently confided, deploring a media lynching orchestrated by those who wish to cut him off from his audience as a Muslim figure. The lawyers maintain that their client has never sought to evade his responsibilities, but demanded to be able to explain himself in "serene medical conditions".