Ahead of the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend, Amnesty International have released a statement condemning the Bahraini government’s use of sporting event to cover up human rights abuses.
Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui said in a statement,
“The authorities are trying to use the Grand Prix as a platform to show progress, with claims that the human rights situation has improved, whilst stepping up repression in order to ensure nothing disturbs their public image."
“Instead of responding to the uprising of February 2011, the last two years have seen continued killings, arbitrary arrests and alleged torture in Bahrain."
“We are seeing nothing but crackdowns and token gestures to clean up the country’s image. Families wait for justice for their killed relatives, opposition leaders languish in jail, and children are detained and tried under the anti-terrorism law."
“The Bahraini government says the country is engaged in human rights reform. The onus is on them to demonstrate it. They should immediately release all prisoners of conscience, let demonstrators exercise their rights peacefully and allow unrestricted access to NGOs and journalists to monitor the situation around the Grand Prix.”
His statement comes as the British All-Party Parliamentary Group for Democracy in Bahrain, consisting of 20 MP’s wrote to F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone calling for a cancellation of the race, with chairman Andy Slaughter stating,
“I think most democratic-minded people would be appalled if you allowed the Bahrain leg of the Formula 1 championship to go ahead amidst the most atrocious human rights violations."
Earlier last week, Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East director of Human Rights Watch, said last week,
"Bahraini authorities are arbitrarily detaining opposition protesters in advance of the Grand Prix. This suggests officials are more concerned with getting activists out of circulation than with addressing the legitimate grievances that have led so many Bahrainis to take to the streets".
