A 50-year-old Indian-origin doctor working at a hospital in Bahrain was arrested on Thursday, October 19, for anti-Palestine posts on social media.
Dr Sunil J Rao, a specialist in internal medicine at Royal Bahrain Hospital, was terminated immediately before his arrest.
In a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, Rao supported Israel amid its conflict with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“IsraelFightsBack will do a scorched earth attack, plenty will be killed, displaced, Hamas will be destroyed (rightly so), then what? If I may ask? #Israel #Gaza #IsraelPalestineConflict. Occupy under military force? one of the posts reads.
Rao was arrested by the Anti-Cyber Crimes Directorate of the General Directorate of Anti-Corruption and Economic and Electronic Security for violations of civil peace and social stability that could affect society’s security and safety.
In a statement, Royal Bahrain Hospital said, “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.”
It added, “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.”
Rao’s apology
Before the hospital’s response, Rao took to X and wrote, “I profoundly regret my words & actions.”
He added, “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.”
Who is Dr Sunil J Rao?
Dr Sunil J Rao, who hails from the Indian state of Karnataka, is a graduate of Andhra Medical College in Visakhapatnam, India and completed his MD from Kasturba Medical College in Mangaluru, Karnataka.
