“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.”
Bahrain was the Gulf state most affected by the Arab Spring, with scores of
people being killed as police crushed protests calling for more democracy.
The reaction has curbed what was previously a vibrant growth in opposition and
human rights groups relative to neighbours such as Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates.
Protests have continued, and many have turned violent. There have also been
minor bombings, with a group called Coalition of February 14 Youth claiming
responsibility for four explosions on Sunday night.
In one, a stolen car was blown up with a gas cylinder in Bahrain’s financial
district. No-one was hurt.
In Kuwait, the only other Gulf state with an active elected parliament, an
opposition leader, Musallam al-Barrak, was jailed for five years on Monday
likewise for “insulting the emir” over a speech warning him about
the dangers of autocracy.
Amnesty International said the new penalties and Bahrain’s continued detention
of activists contrasted with the government’s claim that citizens were free
to exercise their right to peaceful expression of views.
“Increasing the punishment for criticism of Bahrain’s king is a further
attempt to muzzle activists ahead of the upcoming Grand Prix,” said
Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, its Middle East deputy director. “The
authorities’ reliance on a vaguely-worded criminal ‘offence’ to avoid
scrutiny of their record says a lot about their own failures and lack of
commitment to reform.”
Nicholas McGeehan, a Human Rights Watch researcher, said: “The race is
going ahead and our position is quite simply to call it out for what it is. It
is a political event which will serve to gloss over serious rights
violations.”
Mr Ecclestone has refused to consider cancelling the race, though he has said
he would be willing to meet opposition protesters. “We’ve had all sorts
of protesters – look at those complaining about Mrs Thatcher,” he said
on Monday. “This happens all the time. People use these things when
there is an opportunity.”