So on 23/03/2012, after speaking to them on the phone, I dropped the following email to the General Medical Council. I explained why here. The letter was quite straightforward:
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I object to cardiologist Dr Fawaz Akhras of Harley Street and the Cromwell Hospital advising his son-in-law President Assad on how to torture people in Syria, as shown by emails published by The Guardian.
If no-one has registered a complaint against Dr Akhras, I would like to do so, and ask you to investigate this further as I do not feel it is suitable for a GMC registered doctor to behave in this way.http://www.fawazakhras.com/http://www.bupacromwellhospital.com/find-a-consultant/fawaz-akhras/The Cromwell Hospital said that they did not have his GMC number, as did his secretary at Harley Street.I am happy to provide any other information you might need, but would rather do it by telephone at the moment due to a hand injury: xxxxxxxxxx or xxxxxxxxxxx.Best wishes,Dorothy King
I received the automated email "We'll try to get back to you within two weeks" but didn't received any phones calls or emails until the 10/04/2012 (more than two weeks, even excluding Easter), when I received this:
Dear Dr KingThank you for your email of 23 March 2012 in which you raise your concerns about Dr Akhras, the father-in-law of President Abbas.The GMC’s responsibility is to protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the UK public. We do this by licensing doctors to practise medicine in the UK. We can restrict or remove registration where we find a doctor’s fitness to practise medicine to be impaired.We note your objection to Dr Akhras’ apparent support for the Syrian regime. However, given the basic right to freedom of speech, holding a particular political opinion or adopting a supportive standpoint on an issue is very unlikely to justify action to restrict or remove a doctor’s right to practise medicine in the UK. Nor does it appear that the communications are illegal in nature, and if they were this would be a matter for the police initially.In the circumstances, while we fully acknowledge the very emotive issues raised by the current political situation in Syria, we have concluded that Dr Akhras’ emails on the subject do not fall within the scope of our fitness to practise procedures.Yours sincerelyThomas WightmanInvestigation OfficerFitness to Practise DirectorateDirect Dial: 0161 923 6761Fax No: 0161 923 6578Email: twightman@gmc-uk.org
So .... interesting, as I didn't mention I was "Dr" King. And frankly I would have used Rabbi Dorothy Lobel King had I thought it would help.
Obviously they had Googled me, and seen that I support Free Speech.
Which is fine, but ... whilst Free Speech is enshrined in the US Constitution, it is not a basic right in the UK, where we all are. In the US Freedom of Speech is also with conditions, and had they done a better job of Googling, rather than basing their understanding of the law on episodes of Law & Order, they would have seen that Speech which is an incitement to crime is not protected in the US ... There are even more limitations to "Free Speech" in the UK ... even Wikipedia knows that!
The GMC also discovered that I oppose torture, which frankly most British people would agree with.
So, my basic question is:
Does you know any good reason why the GMC would not even bother to go through the motions of investigating a British doctor being possibly involved in torture? surely this is a breach of the basis of the Hippocratic Oath (“do no harm” etc)? and why did they not want to look at further evidence I offer to supply them with?
It's also interesting in a week when the British government is paying out huge compensation to
Adbel Hakim Belhadj for being involved in his Rendition to Libya and torture - see here ....
I answered the GMC immediately, but am still waiting to hear back from them:
I doubt they'll bother to answer.
Dr Fawaz Akhras works at the BUPA "flag-ship" Cromwell Hospital, and a few people have told me they've dropped BUPA emails to complain.
My guess is that they would have more success with Freud Communications, who represent BUPA in terms of PR: their switchboard is 0203 003 6300 (+442030036300), and just ask to speak to someone on the "BUPA team"
I answered the GMC immediately, but am still waiting to hear back from them:
Thank you.
I fully support Free Speech and understand your position.
My question is simple: what would I have to prove Dr Akhras had done for you to consider it an issue?
I'm honestly not trying to be difficult, I simply am trying to ask a factual question. The emails were enough for the Foreign Office & EU to act, but I am happy to furnish you with any further information you might need.
Best wishes, Dorothy
I doubt they'll bother to answer.
Dr Fawaz Akhras works at the BUPA "flag-ship" Cromwell Hospital, and a few people have told me they've dropped BUPA emails to complain.
My guess is that they would have more success with Freud Communications, who represent BUPA in terms of PR: their switchboard is 0203 003 6300 (+442030036300), and just ask to speak to someone on the "BUPA team"
I am as good at making mischief as anyone, but this seems to me to potentially be a serious issue and I don’t want to let it drop it like a good little girl because the GMC would like me to and are too busy to be bothered to even pretend to investigate as they are required to by statute. Evidence obtained by torture cannot be use in either the UK or the US for a good reason - we see ourselves as civilized people, above such barbarity. Just as "Englishmen never will be slaves" we should also never be involved in the enslavement by torture of others - and like Caesar's Wife we should go out of our way to be above reproach.
And this whiffs of a cover-up.
