Srinagar, May 26 -- Well-known Islamic studies scholar Tariq Ramadan has been cleared of rape and sexual coercion by a Swiss court.

Ramadan, who is a Swiss citizen, is the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, the founder of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. The case was brought by a Swiss woman who said she had been raped by Ramadan in a Geneva hotel in 2008

A convert to Islam, and a fan of Ramadan's, the woman told the court she had been subjected to a brutal sexual assault, beatings and insults.

She said it happened after she was invited by the former Oxford academic for a coffee after a conference.

Ramadan, who is 60, had faced up to three years in prison if convicted. He denied all the charges, but did admit to having met the woman.

After the ...