Islamic scholar gets 18-year sentence

PARIS, France (AFP) — Swiss Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan was sentenced on Wednesday to 18 years in prison by a Paris criminal court for the rape of three women.

The verdict marks the latest fall from grace for the former Oxford University professor, who faces a string of rape allegations in Switzerland and France and has already been convicted in the former.

A charismatic yet controversial figure in European Islam, Ramadan has always maintained his innocence.