Bern High Court examines verdict against Biel lay preacher
Published: Wednesday, Jun 12th 2024, 04:50
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Today, Wednesday, the Bernese High Court will review the verdict against the lay preacher Abu Ramadan from Biel. The 70-year-old Libyan was sentenced in the first instance to a conditional prison sentence of 14 months for fraud and racial discrimination.
In June 2022, the regional court found it proven that Abu Ramadan had concealed income from organizing pilgrimages from the authorities in his commune of Nidau. He had thus unlawfully received social welfare benefits amounting to almost CHF 45,000.
He had also called for hatred towards people of other faiths during a Friday sermon at the Ar'Rahman mosque in Biel in 2017. An audio recording of the sermon was made public by media reports. The public prosecutor's office then launched an investigation.
Abu Ramadan has always denied the accusations. His official defense lawyer had demanded an acquittal before the first instance. The Libyan had not generated any income from his activities within the Islamic community. Everything was above board in the flow of money between pilgrims, himself and the tour organizers.
The accused came to Switzerland in 1998 after fleeing from the then Libyan ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi. Unemployed, he received welfare benefits for years. He now lives on AHV and supplementary benefits.
In the past, the man repeatedly traveled to Libya, where several close relatives live. Due to his many trips, the federal authorities denied him asylum status in 2017. Since then, Abu Ramadan has been living in Switzerland thanks to a C permit.
©Keystone/SDA
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