In sympathy with Ukraine, a private clinic in Munich, Germany has allegedly denied treatment to Russian and Belarusian patients. The Iatros Klinik is a private clinic based in Munich, Germany. They wrote a letter to convey their support for Ukraine in the middle of the continuing conflict.
The clinic in a letter dated March 4 said, “We strongly oppose the invasion of the Russian army with the cooperation of the Belarusian government. As a result, we will not serve Russian and Belarusian citizens from now on and until future notice,” it added. (Machine translated from German)
This action of the clinic received heavy criticism after the letter gained attention. Social media users condemned the decision of the clinic for such hard action. A Twitter user Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) wrote, “This is insane. A hospital in Munich, Germany sent this letter where they announce that “from now on and until further notice, we will not treat Russian and Belarusian citizens.” Source is RTL (one of Germany’s largest media)”
This is insane. A hospital in Munich, Germany sent this letter where they announce that “from now on and until further notice, we will not treat Russian and Belarusian citizens.”
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) March 10, 2022
Source is RTL (one of Germany’s largest media): https://t.co/OJWwWqnonq pic.twitter.com/3ey6i52FY2
The statement drew widespread condemnation, with some relating it to the medical oath and others seeing it as a declaration of racism and prejudice.
After receiving harsh criticism, the clinic released a statement referring to the letter in which they stated, “the reaction to our letter affected us greatly and made us think. Our intention was to show sympathy for the Ukrainian people and, like other companies have done, to sever business ties with Russia and send a show of support. At that point in time, this thought had not been thought through to the end.”
“The way we write has been rightly criticized by a number of people. We fully accept this criticism. We apologize for giving this impression,” it added.
However, they appear to have apologized for their actions and acknowledged the criticism, but it is unclear whether they have altered their decision or will continue to do so.
