Formula One Under Pressure Over Rights Ahead Of Bahrain GP
6th March 2019
The kingdom will host the second Grand Prix of 2019, from March 29 to March 31

- Rights groups around the world are pressuring Formula 1 to demand the Bahraini government release an activist jailed over social media posts criticising Manama's hosting of the 2017 Grand Prix
- Yousif opposed Formula One's decision to hold races in Bahrain on social media over the kingdom's rights records
- Prosecutors say Yousif was convicted of "broadcasting false and biased news" about conditions in Bahrain and "promoting terrorist acts"
DUBAI, United Arab
Emirates- Rights groups around the world are pressuring Formula 1 to demand
the Bahraini government release an activist jailed over social media posts
criticising Manama's hosting of the 2017 Grand Prix.
Letters between Formula One and rights groups -- including
Human Rights Watch and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy -- seen
Wednesday by AFP, raise the case of Najah Yousif, jailed for three years over
what rights groups say is criticism of the 2017 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Yousif opposed Formula One's decision to hold races in
Bahrain on social media over the kingdom's rights records.
Prosecutors say Yousif was convicted of "broadcasting
false and biased news" about conditions in Bahrain and "promoting
terrorist acts".
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A February 6 letter signed by 17 rights groups urged Formula
One to "uphold its commitment to human rights" by calling for
Yousif's immediate release and disclosing information obtained during the
organiser's discussions with the Bahraini government.
A March 4 response from Formula 1 general counsel Sacha
Woodward Hill said F1 was "assured that Ms. Yousif's detention, the
charges she faced, her trial and her subsequent conviction had nothing to do
with the peaceful protest around the Bahrain Grand Prix" -- a statement
dismissed by rights groups as "absurd".
"Taking the Bahraini government's assurances that no
punitive measures will be directed against activists for peacefully opposing
the Grand Prix is absurd given Bahrain's track record of repressive measures to
close down protests opposing the races in the country," said Aya Majzoub,
Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch .
Bahrain, a key US ally located between rivals Saudi Arabia
and Iran, has been gripped by bouts of unrest since 2011, when authorities
cracked down on Shiite-led protests demanding political reform.
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Since then, hundreds of protesters have been jailed or
stripped of their nationality, including athletes.
Bahrain claims Iran trains and backs demonstrators in order
to topple the Manama government. Iran denies the accusation.
The kingdom will host the second Grand Prix of 2019, from
March 29 to March 31.