A Worldwide Appeal for Tariq Ramadan

OPEN LETTER: A WORLDWIDE APPEAL FOR DUE PROCESS FOR TARIQ RAMADAN

After four months of pre-trial detention, Tariq Ramadan's last appeal for bail has again been denied.

As scholars and politicians from around the world, we write to demand due process for Professor Tariq Ramadan, incarcerated since February 2nd in a French prison.

It is not for us to judge Tariq Ramadan's guilt or innocence. We fully recognize the rights of the plaintiffs to have their case heard without prejudice and without injury to their honour. But we wish to remind the country that has affirmed the inalienability of human rights and equality of the importance of respect for the principles that ensure the integrity of French justice.

We ask: Why has Mr. Ramadan been denied bail at the preliminary investigative stage although he willingly came for questioning and has given all required guarantees?

Has Mr. Ramadan been granted the equal treatment so prized by France when high-ranking political figures accused of similar offenses continue to enjoy full freedom of movement?

Is there one form of justice for Muslims in France and another for everyone else?

What justifies solitary confinement, limited family visitation rights, the denial of access to his case file and thus to the necessary means of preparing his defense?

Can prosecutors selectively leak information with impunity? Is it standard procedure in France for high-ranking political figures to publicly denigrate someone awaiting a trial?

In short, we respectfully ask, has Mr. Ramadan benefitted from a fair and equitable legal process, one in which he is presumed innocent until proven guilty?

These are straightforward questions of equal justice. To them we add deep concern for the dignity and humane treatment of all prisoners.

French magistrates have appeared to ignore the diagnoses of nine physicians that Mr. Ramadan suffers from multiple sclerosis, including the chief prison medical authority, who confirmed that his state of health is not compatible with continued incarceration.

Even though Mr. Ramadan suffers from multiple sclerosis and further neurological complications, proper medical treatment has not been provided.

We understand that the defense has appealed to the European Court of Human Rights against undue suffering he has undergone at the hands of the French justice.

We ask our French friends: should it truly come to this?

We, the signatories of this letter, endorse France's commitment to uphold the values of liberté, égalité et fraternité threatened today around the world.

We trust that your response to our appeal will prove these sentiments to be well placed.

Signatories:

Prof Farid Hafez , Salzburg, Austria Dr Malika Hamidi, Brussels, Belgium Dr Yacob Mahi, Brussels, Belgium Nordine Saïdi, Brussels, Belgium Dr Ahmet Alibasic, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Dr Francirosy Campos Barbosa, Sao Paulo, Brazil Dr Nadia Abu-Zahra, Ottawa, Canada Charles Taylor, Montreal, Canada Thomas Woodley, Montreal Canada Houria Bouteldja, Paris, France Ismahane Chouder, Paris, France Dr Sonya Dayan- Herzbrun, Paris, France Catherine Samary, Paris, France Dr Hans-Christian Günther, Freiburg, Germany Professor Dr Anwar Alam, New Delhi, India Dr Javad Kashani, Tehran, Iran Professor Mohammad Marandi, Tehran, Iran Professor Abdulkarim Soroush, Iran Dr Mohammed Hashas, Rome, Italy Hamza Piccardo, Italy Dr Mohammad Abdur Rahman Siddiqi, Tokyo, Japan Dr Ahmad Sukkar, Beirut, Lebanon Tengku Ahmad Hazri, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia Wan Azizah binti Wan Ismail, Malaysia Professor Dr Mohammad Hashim Kamali, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Dr Chandra Muzaffar, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Dr Paul Aarts, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Alexander Fluegel, The Hague, The Netherlands Dr Ellen van de Bovenkamp, Leiden, The Netherlands Dr Hamid Aminoddin Barra, Marawi City, The Philippines Dr Mutaz Al Khatib, Doha, Qatar Dr Mawahib Bakr, Doha, Qatar Dr Mohammed Ghaly, Doha, Qatar Professor Ray Jureidini, Doha, Qatar Professor Emad El-Din Shahin, Doha, Qatar Professor Farid Esack, Johannesburg, South Africa Dr Quraysha Ismail Sooliman, Pretoria, South Africa Jacques Neirynck, Switzerland Dr Sami Al- Arian, Istanbul, Turkey Professor Dr Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, London, UK Dr Shabbir Akhtar, Oxford, UK Dr Nadje Al-Ali, London, UK Dr Arif Anis, London, UK Dr Walter Armbrust, Oxford, UK Karen Armstrong, London, UK Professor Masooda Bano, Oxford, UK Dr Fanny Bauer-Motti, London, UK Professor Stephen Chan, London, UK Dr Stephanie Cronin, Oxford, UK Professor Robert Gombrich, Oxford, UK Dr Bilal Hassam, Leeds, UK Ken Loach, UK Professor Kalypso Nicolaidis, Oxford, UK Professor Jørgen S. Nielsen, Birmingham, UK Dr Homa Katouzian, Oxford, UK Tanya Cariina Newbury-Smith, Exeter, UK Dr Ziba Mir-Hosseini, Cambridge, UK Professor Tariq Modood, Bristol, UK Professor Ian Neary, Oxford, UK Peter Oborne, London, UK Professor Eugene Rogan, Oxford, UK Dr Behar Sadriu, London, UK Omar Salha, London, UK Professor Salman Sayyid, Leeds, UK Dr Mustapha Sheikh, Leeds, UK Professor Avi Shlaim, Oxford, UK Professor Jan Zielonka, Oxford, UK Dr Khaled Abu-El Fadl, Los Angeles, California, USA Professor Asma Afsaruddin, Bloomington, Indiana, USA Dr Ilham AlMahamid, Albany, New York, USA Ijaz Arif, Roseville, California, USA Abbas Barzegar, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Dr Hatem Bazian, Berkeley, California, USA Dr Jonathan Brown, Washington DC, USA Dr Zahid Bukhari, Frederick, Maryland, USA Dr Charles Butterworth, Maryland, USA Salah Eddin Elbakri, Oakland, USA Professor John Esposito, Washington DC, USA Dr James H. Faghmous, Stanford, USA Professor Marianne Farina, Berkeley, California, USA Dr Alain Gabon, Virginia, USA Professor Todd Green, Iowa, USA Dr Ramon Grosfoguel, Berkeley, California, USA Dr Abdullah bin Hamid Ali, California, USA Dr Nader Hashemi, Denver, USA Dr Altaf Husain, Washington, USA Hussein Khatib, Minnesota, USA Dalia Mogahed, Washington, USA Dr Aasim Padela, Chicago, USA Muslema Purmul, California, USA Dr Yasir Qadhi, Memphis, TN, USA Professor Robert Shedinger, Iowa, USA Dr Ahmad Sheikh, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA Dr Amina Wadud, Berkeley, California, USA Hamza Yusuf, Berkeley, California, USA

www.dueprocesstariqramadan.org

( Source: Change.org )