A court in Rotterdam has ruled that the city council does not have to pay the dismissed integration adviser Tariq Ramadan damages. Mr Ramadan is a Swiss academic and a Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies in the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
Rotterdam decided to terminate its contract with Mr Ramadan in August 2009, saying that it was unacceptable that he was making a weekly television programme for the Iranian government-financed broadcaster Press TV. The council said this was irreconcilable with his duties for the city. Mr Ramadan straightaway announced his intention to begin legal proceedings, saying that his honour and his dignity had been impugned.
Mr Ramadan said the council had unlawfully annulled his contract and demanded 75,000 euros in material damages as well as 10,000 euros in emotional damages. He added that his protest was less about the money than the rehabilitation of his reputation.
© Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Email this Bulletin
Printer-friendly version
