(AFP) Tariq Ramadan, a leading Islamic scholar held in France since February on charges he raped two women, on Thursday won conditional release after testifying in an appeals court.
A Paris court ruled in favour of Ramadan after the 56-year-old Swiss academic made, who has been in custody since February 2, an impassioned argument for release.
His bail was set at 300,000 euros ($340,000) and requires him to hand over his passport and report to police once a week.
“Where would I flee to?” he asked in his hearing, his first public appearance since his incarceration.
Ramadan denies charges he raped the women in 2009 and 2012. One accuser is a disabled woman identified in media reports as “Christelle” and the other is a feminist activist, Henda Ayari.
