Rape-accused scholar Ramadan loses latest bid to be freed from French jail

PARIS: An appeals court in Paris has upheld a decision by judges to keep Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan in jail while he is being investigated on rape charges brought by two women, a legal source told AFP on Thursday. Lawyers for Ramadan had requested his release last month after unsuccessfully trying to have the charges dropped over discrepancies in testimony given by one of the women. Ramadan, who took leave from his post at Oxford University after the allegations surfaced, has also complained that his imprisonment has made it more difficult for him to receive treatment for multiple sclerosis. But the appeals court upheld his detention on Wednesday, considering Ramadan, who holds Swiss citizenship, is a flight risk despite his offer to surrender his passport and post 300,000 euros ($350,000) in bail. Investigative magistrates had already denied several requests for his release.