BERLIN (AP) — The rector of a German university where academics voted to award NSA leaker Edward Snowden an honorary doctorate is trying to have the decision reversed — arguing that his actions don’t fulfill the required criteria.
The University of Rostock’s philosophy faculty decided by a large majority last week to award Snowden the title.
But rector Wolfgang Schareck said in a statement Thursday that Snowden’s leaking to media of NSA documents doesn’t constitute the “special academic achievement” required by law in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for a doctorate to be granted.
Schareck says he filed a formal complaint and asked the philosophy faculty to reverse its decision. If it refuses, the state’s education ministry would have to decide whether the title can be awarded.
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