Swiss university grants honorary doctorate to Iranian human rights activist
The University of Bern has awarded Iranian lawyer and human rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh an honorary doctorate.
The university said it wanted to honour the lawyer and journalist’s “courageous fight” for the rights of women and girls.
“Sotoudeh gives Iranian civil society a face through her activities,” wrote the University of Bern in its laudatory speech. Sotoudeh pursues her commitment to peace and freedom, risking her own freedom and life. The sixty-year-old is a member of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement.
The Iranian has represented numerous defendants in political and human rights cases. For example, Sotoudeh worked as a lawyer for the Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, who was persecuted by the Iranian judiciary and now lives in exile in the United Kingdom. Sotoudeh herself was convicted several times in Iran and was banned from travelling and practising her profession. For this reason, Sotoudeh was not in Bern on Saturday.
Sotoudeh has already received numerous awards for her work, including the Alternative Nobel Prize and the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
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Honorary doctorates in the scientific field
The Faculty of Medicine has also awarded Prof. Dr Stefanie Dimmeler an honorary doctorate. The German biologist and biochemist has made a name for herself through her research into the pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases.
Finally, the Faculty of Science has also awwarded Prof. Dr Bernd Sturmfels an honorary doctorate. The mathematician was honoured for his pioneering work in algebraic statistics and tropical geometry. Sturmfels has been Director at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig since 2017.
Founded in 1834, the University of Bern awards honorary doctorates at its annual foundation ceremony, the Dies academicus.
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