Paris - Prominent Swiss academic Tariq
Ramadan, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of
Oxford, has been taken into custody by French police following
accusations of rape, a judicial source said on Wednesday.
The source said a preliminary investigation was opened after
two complaints were filed against Ramadan, a well-known figure
in the Middle East. He is the grandson of the founder of the
Muslim Brotherhood movement in Egypt, Hassan al-Banna.
Ramadan took a leave of absence from Oxford last November
after two women filed complaints in France alleging rape. He has
denied the allegations and filed a complaint for slander against
author Henda Ayari, one of his accusers.