Help promote human rights in the Middle East and North Africa

Donate Today
Facebook-f Twitter Instagram Linkedin Youtube Envelope
Search
Close
  • English
  • العربية
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • What We Do
    • Who We Are
    • FAQs
    • Support Dawn
    • Work With Us
    • For the Media
  • Founder Jamal Khashoggi
    • Who Was Jamal Khashoggi?
    • Chronology of a Murder
    • UN Recommendations
    • International Reaction
    • In His Own Words
    • DAWN and Jamal
  • Countries
    • Saudi Arabia
    • Egypt
    • UAE
    • Israel-Palestine
    • DAWN's Culprits Gallery
  • Democracy In Exile
    • About
    • Submission Guidelines for Democracy in Exile
  • Advocacy
    • DAWN's Advocacy
    • The Lobbyist Hall of Shame
    • DAWN's Culprits Gallery
    • Reforming Foreign Policy
      • Aid Conditionality
      • Human Rights Go to War
    • US Foreign Policy in MENA
    • Joint Advocacy
  • Experts
  • Latest
Menu
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • What We Do
    • Who We Are
    • FAQs
    • Support Dawn
    • Work With Us
    • For the Media
  • Founder Jamal Khashoggi
    • Who Was Jamal Khashoggi?
    • Chronology of a Murder
    • UN Recommendations
    • International Reaction
    • In His Own Words
    • DAWN and Jamal
  • Countries
    • Saudi Arabia
    • Egypt
    • UAE
    • Israel-Palestine
    • DAWN's Culprits Gallery
  • Democracy In Exile
    • About
    • Submission Guidelines for Democracy in Exile
  • Advocacy
    • DAWN's Advocacy
    • The Lobbyist Hall of Shame
    • DAWN's Culprits Gallery
    • Reforming Foreign Policy
      • Aid Conditionality
      • Human Rights Go to War
    • US Foreign Policy in MENA
    • Joint Advocacy
  • Experts
  • Latest
Donate

Formula One CEO Urged to Launch Human Rights Inquiry into Bahrain Grand Prix

March 25, 2021
in Advocacy, Dawn’s Advocacy, Feature, International Actors, Joint Letters
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

عربی 

25 March 2021 – New Formula One (F1) CEO Stefano Domenicali should "establish a commission of independent experts to investigate the human rights impact of F1's activities in Bahrain" and take steps to compensate victims, in light of ongoing abuses linked to the Bahrain Grand Prix and growing international concern about 'sportswashing', 24 international NGOs and trade unions including the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), Human Rights Watch and the International Trade Union Confederation stated in an open letter sent yesterday.

Since the Bahrain Grand Prix was canceled a decade ago amid the Bahraini government's "brutal suppression" of the country's 2011 Arab Spring pro-democracy movement, the human rights situation in the country has "only worsened," while individuals continued to be targeted for publicly opposing the presence of F1 in the country.

The letter highlights a renewed government crackdown on dissent in 2021, which saw an 11-year old boy detained "for joining protests against the November 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix." Calls for an inquiry were also backed by 61 UK parliamentarians in a similar letter sent last week by Layla Moran MP.

The letter accuses F1 management of failing to adequately support victims of human rights abuses linked to the Grand Prix, including Najah Yusuf, who was tortured and jailed in 2017 after criticising the race on social media and who the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has called to be compensated. Signatories also claim that F1 has failed to abide by a human rights policy adopted in 2015 following mediation with rights groups, which commits the company to "engage in meaningful consultation with relevant stakeholders in relation to any issues raised as a result of our due diligence, where appropriate."

As a result, the coalition calls on F1 to establish an independent commission to investigate human rights violations linked to the race, "with a complaints mechanism to allow victims to report abuses." Signatories also urge Domenicali to "independently review" F1's human rights policy and "actively work to secure redress" for victims of historic abuses.

Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Director of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), commented: "After years of engagement with F1 over their activities in Bahrain, we should not still be hearing shocking accounts of children being locked up for protesting against the race. It has become clear that F1's current human rights policy has not led to real change; it's time for the new CEO to stop sportswashing and launch an independent inquiry."

Joe Stork, Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East division, commented: "For well over a decade Formula One has been staging races in Bahrain with great fanfare, but it's chiefs suddenly lose their voices when it comes to the country's terrible human rights record. It's well past time for F1 to stop sports-washing Bahrain's abusive government."

Husain Abdulla, Executive Director of Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB), commented: "This landmark letter from leading rights groups and unions reflects growing international concern about the role played by F1 in "sportswashing" abuses in Bahrain and the wider Arab Gulf. F1's management need to end their complicity with Bahrain's abuses and provide accountability for victims; the unresolved murder of Salah Abbas in 2012 and the failure to compensate Najah Yusuf must be addressed as a matter of urgency."

Photo Credits: SCARPERIA, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 11: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Aston Martin Red Bull Racing RB16 on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Tuscany at Mugello Circuit on September 11, 2020 in Scarperia, Italy. (Photo by Mario Renzi – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)

Tags: BahrainFormula Onehuman rights violations
Previous Post

DAWN and Hatice Cengiz Successfully Serve Saudi Crown Prince, Paving Way for Lawsuit for the Murder of Jamal Khashoggi

Next Post

Releasing Political Prisoners Should Be a Priority for Biden's Egypt Policy

Related Posts

SHARM EL SHEIKH, EGYPT - NOVEMBER 10: Egyptian security forces look on as a small group of protesters demonstrating outside the venue entrance in support of civil society's role in influencing climate change during the UNFCCC COP27 climate conference on November 10, 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The conference is bringing together political leaders and representatives from 190 countries to discuss climate-related topics including climate change adaptation, climate finance, decarbonisation, agriculture and biodiversity. The conference is running from November 6-18. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Advocacy

Egypt's Restrictive NGO Law Erodes Civil Space, Groups Call on Blinken to Urge Egypt to Amend It

NGOs Call on Secretary Blinken to Urge Egypt to Withdraw Its Upcoming NGO Registration Deadline April 11th is the...

DAWN
March 28, 2023
King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.
Advocacy

Boeing Complicit in Saudi Travel Bans on Peaceful Activists

NGOs call on Boeing to urge Saudi Arabia to lift travel bans on peaceful activists​

DAWN
March 23, 2023
In this photo provided by Ibrahim Almadi to CNN, Saad Ibrahim Almadi sits in a restaurant in an unidentified place, in the United States, on August 2021.
DAWN

Saudi Arabia: Lift Travel Ban on US Citizen Released from Saudi Prison

Saudi Arabia should immediately lift a travel ban it has reportedly imposed on Mr. Saad Almadi,

DAWN
March 21, 2023
An Iraqi woman with her children raise their hands as US soldiers from the 4th Infantry division search their house in Tikrit, 180 Kilometers (110 miles) north of Baghdad, 19 December 2003. US soldiers captured Saddam hiding in a hole at a farm outside his hometown of Tikrit on December 13.         AFP PHOTO/JEWEL SAMAD / AFP PHOTO / JEWEL SAMAD        (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images)
DAWN

'A Never-Ending Cycle of Failures.' The Legacy of the Invasion of Iraq, 20 Years On

(Washington, D.C., March 20, 2023): On the 20th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, DAWN’s journal, Democracy in...

DAWN
March 20, 2023
Next Post
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - JUNE 05 :   Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (L) and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (R) review the honor guard in Budapest, Hungary on June 05, 2015. (Photo by Hungary Prime Minister's Press office/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Releasing Political Prisoners Should Be a Priority for Biden's Egypt Policy

Sudan's Feared Paramilitary Leader Tries to Launder His Image, With Western Help

March 29, 2023
SHARM EL SHEIKH, EGYPT - NOVEMBER 10: Egyptian security forces look on as a small group of protesters demonstrating outside the venue entrance in support of civil society's role in influencing climate change during the UNFCCC COP27 climate conference on November 10, 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The conference is bringing together political leaders and representatives from 190 countries to discuss climate-related topics including climate change adaptation, climate finance, decarbonisation, agriculture and biodiversity. The conference is running from November 6-18. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Egypt's Restrictive NGO Law Erodes Civil Space, Groups Call on Blinken to Urge Egypt to Amend It

March 28, 2023

'It's Not Something We Can Leave in the Past.' George Packer on the Iraq War's Long Legacy

March 23, 2023

Categories

  • Advocacy
  • Aid Conditionality
  • Anonymous Interviews
  • Anonymous Interviews Egypt
  • Anonymous Interviews Saudi Arabia
  • Anonymous Interviews UAE
  • Cases
  • Cases Egypt
  • Cases Saudi Arabia
  • Cases UAE
  • Countries
  • Culprits
  • Culprits Egypt
  • Culprits Israel
  • Culprits Saudi Arabia
  • Culprits UAE
  • DAWN
  • Dawn's Advocacy
  • Democracy In Exile
  • Editor's Pick
  • Egypt
  • Feature
  • Fellows
  • Foreign Policy
  • Human Rights
  • Human Rights Go to War
  • International Actors
  • Israel-Palestine
  • Joint Letters
  • Lobbyists
  • Lobbyists Israel Palestine
  • Palestine
  • Political prisoners
  • Press Release Egypt
  • Press Release Israel-Palestine
  • Press Release Saudi Arabia
  • Press Release UAE
  • Press Releases
  • Saudi Arabia
  • UAE
  • Uncategorized
  • United Nations
  • US – Egypt
  • US – Saudi Arabia
  • US – UAE
  • USA
  • Yemen Conference

SUPPORT OUR MISSION

Donate Today

About Us

Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) is a nonprofit organization that promotes democracy, the rule of law, and human rights for all of the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Support Us

Donate Now

Newsletter

Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin Youtube

© DAWN All rights reserved. | Website Design by KRS Creative.

DONATE TODAY