Oxford University Professor Tariq Ramadan was questioned in court about two rape charges for the first time since he admitted having sex with his accusers.
In the latest stage of a marathon legal process, the 57-year-old father-of-four will be grilled by Paris judges about claims that he attacked two women.
He originally denied sleeping with feminist activist Henda Ayari, 43, and a 42-year-old handicapped woman identified solely by the alias Christelle.
But his story changed following his last meeting with judges when he was being held on remand at Fleury-Mérogis – the largest prison in Europe – south of Paris in October 2018.
He now says that he had consensual sex that he wanted to keep private, and that his accusers have been manipulated by ideological enemies who accuse him of being a radical Islamist.
Professor Ramadan, who has multiple sclerosis, was released after nine months in detention without trial in November 2018.
He has been living in the suburbs of Paris since, after surrendering his Swiss passport and paying bail equivalent to £250,000.
The academic, who has taken leave of absence from his job as Professor of Islamic Studies at St Antony's College, Oxford, has regularly requested permission to return to his north London home, but this has been refused.
