NEW DELHI: An Indian-origin doctor working at a hospital in Bahrain lost his job for posting inflammatory comments on social media targeting Palestinians.
Dr. Sunil Rao posted a series of tweets expressing support for Israel during its conflict with Hamas. His tweets were flagged by a user on X (formerly Twitter), prompting Bahraini authorities to take notice.
Calling his tweets 'offensive to our society', Royal Bahrain Hospital terminated the employment of Dr. Rao. "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."
Dr. Rao issued an apology on social media, acknowledging the insensitivity of his statements. "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.
The hospital also removed his profile from its website. According to his Twitter profile, Dr. Rao is a specialist in internal medicine with approximately 20 years of experience.