“We are seeing nothing but crackdowns and token gestures to clean up the
country’s image,” Sahraoui added.
On Tuesday, around 200 people gathered in the village of Barbar, 15 miles
outside Manama to protest against Bahrain’s hosting of the grand prix and
the perceived culture of police brutality. The demonstrators held banners
with messages including “F1: do we race on other people’s blood?” and “This
race is taking place on the ground of our martyrs, our political prisoners
and our wounded.”
Ala’a Shehabi, leader of activist group Bahrain Watch, told The Daily
Telegraph: “Most people in Bahrain feel as though they have no voice and no
share in Formula One. It is a sport of the wealthy and the privileged. This
is why they are protesting. At least 225 journalists have been banned from
entering Bahrain in the past year because the government object to the tone
of Western coverage of what is happening.”