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University must not discredit scientist

There was great excitement when Humboldt University canceled a lecture on gender biology due to protests by activists. In its justification, the university then criticized its own scientist. This was not permissible.

View of the sculpture of Alexander von Humboldt in front of the main building of Humboldt....aussiedlerbote.de
View of the sculpture of Alexander von Humboldt in front of the main building of Humboldt University. Photo.aussiedlerbote.de

Court ruling - University must not discredit scientist

Following a canceled lecture on the definition and number of biological genders, Berlin's Humboldt University was not allowed to publicly disparage one of its own scientists. This was decided by the administrative court at the request of the biology doctoral student. The university had canceled a public lecture by the woman on the biology of the two sexes in 2022 due to protests by left-wing activists and fears of escalation.

The university explained that the opinions expressed by the biologist in a "Welt" article on public broadcasting and the transgender controversy"are not in line with the mission statement of the HU and the values it represents". This statement has now been provisionally prohibited.

The court explained that the woman had, according to her own statements, been the target of massive hostility as a result. The court ruled that the university's statement was likely to disparage the woman's reputation and was not justified as an infringement of her personal rights. The statement could be interpreted as if the doctoral candidate's entire opinion was not in line with the university's mission statement, which stands for respect and against discrimination.

"On an objective interpretation of the press release, this value judgment lacks a viable factual basis," the court stated. It was not clear which opinions of the woman and which values of the university were specifically at issue.

The title of the woman's lecture was: "Sex is not bad: sex, gender and why there are two sexes in biology ". The university wrote at the time that there were "no arguments from a scientific point of view" against the lecture on questions of biological sex. It was therefore rescheduled.

The media portal Nius first reported on this. The decision is not legally binding.

Nius report Statement by the plaintiff's lawyer

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Source: www.stern.de

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