Statement - verdict Prof. M. Hauke

Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) and Facoltà di Teologia di Lugano (FTL), affiliated to USI since 2021, take note of the acquittal by the Criminal Court of Professor Manfred Hauke. As already disclosed to the media on Monday, 8 April on the occasion of the hearing (https://www.usi.ch/en/feeds/27953), an ad hoc USI-FTL Ethics Commission has been appointed to evaluate whether the facts that led to Prof. Hauke's acquittal before the Criminal Court still violated the University's founding principles. This process will continue. Prof. Hauke has meanwhile submitted a request to FTL to suspend his teaching activities.

USI Rector Luisa Lambertini is committed to "ensuring that the ad hoc Ethics Commission can conduct rigorous and independent work to evaluate the behaviour of Prof. Hauke", and emphasises "the importance of the Code of Ethics, a true compass for pursuing the principles that USI has given itself as a University community."

FTL Rector René Roux notes for his part that he is "extremely happy for Professor Hauke's acquittal" and "convinced of the value of further in-depth analysis by the USI-FTL ad hoc Ethics Commission to reflect on the values, rights and freedoms at issue."