As Formula 1 is well into its 2011 season, Human Rights Watch says that the international racing bodies responsible for scheduling Formula 1 events should “take full account” of Bahrain’s human rights violations if they consider holding a race in the island nation.
Due to widespread anti-government uprisings in the Middle East country, the government canceled Formula 1’s 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix, which was scheduled by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and the Formula One Teams Association to take place in March.
Despite the cancellation, the FIA is expected to hold a meeting in Barcelona on June 3 to decide if it wants to reschedule the Bahrain Grand Prix for later in the year.
In a letter sent to the organizers, Human Rights Watch questioned if a successful Formula 1 event could be held in “an environment characterized by large-scale arbitrary arrests, prolonged incommunicado detentions, credible allegations of torture, and mass dismissal of workers.”
“Sadly, serious violations like arbitrary arrest, incommunicado detention, and alleged torture by Bahraini authorities pre-date the imposition of martial law in mid-March,” said Tom Porteous, deputy program director at Human Rights Watch, in a press release.
Although Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa recently announced that the martial law will be lifted on June 1, days before the FIA meeting, Porteous said “there is little reason to think that ending martial law on June 1 will make much difference in Bahrain’s menacing human rights climate.”
The rights organization cited that about a quarter of the staff of the government-owned Bahrain International Circuit, the site of the annual Bahrain Grand Prix, were dismissed and arrested.
“International racing officials should ask Bahraini authorities about the fate and well-being of the Bahrain International Circuit staff,” Porteous said. “And racing officials should seriously consider the appropriateness of holding a Formula One event this year in Bahrain in light of the scale of human rights violations there.”
Human Rights Watch has not been allowed to operate in the country Since April 20.
Formula 1 is the highest class of single-seater auto racing sanctioned by the FIA.
