An Indian-origin doctor working at a hospital in Bahrain was sacked from his job for posting anti-Palestinians comments on social media. Royal Bahrain Hospital announced on Thursday that it terminated Dr Sunil Rao's employment because of his tweets that were "offensive to our society".
Dr Rao posted a series of tweets seemingly supporting Israel amid its deadly conflict with Hamas. His tweets went viral after an X (formerly Twitter) user posted them, asking Bahraini authorities to take notice.
Soon after, Royal Bahrain Hospital decided to fire Dr Rao. In a statement posted on social media, the hospital said that it took legal actions and removed him from the job.
"It has come to our attention that Dr Sunil Rao who is working as a Specialist in Internal Medicine has posted tweets on social media that are offensive to our society," the hospital's statement read. "We would like to confirm that his tweets and ideology are personal and do not reflect the opinion and values of the hospital. This is a violation of our code of conduct and we have taken the necessary legal actions and his service has been terminated with immediate effect."
Before the hospital released its statement, Dr Rao posted an apology on X calling his comments "insensitive".
"I would like to apologized about the statement that I posted on this platform. It was insensitive in the context of the current event. As a doctor all lives matter. I respect this country its people and its religion deeply as I have been here for past 10 years," he said in the post.
Screengrab
Profile deleted from website
Along with his tweets, X users circulated screenshots of Dr Rao's profile on Royal Bahrain Hospital. According to his profile, he specialises in internal medicine and has about 20 years of experience.
However, the hospital deleted his profile from its website.
As per his X profile, he is an alumni of Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam, where he earned his MBBS degree; and Kasturba Medical College in Mangaluru, Karnataka; where he completed his MD.
