Formula One has been accused of “looking the other way” by human rights groups in the case of an activist who was beaten, sexually abused and jailed for protesting against the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Najah Yusuf, who was imprisoned after a series of Facebook posts in April 2017 that were critical of the race and the regime, has not been allowed to see her family for six months.
F1 initially said it had “concerns” about Yusuf’s case, but in a letter to Human Rights Watch and the Bahraini Institute of Rights and Democracy (BIRD) on Monday, it said it had been assured that Yusuf’s conviction “had nothing to do with peaceful protest around the Bahrain Grand Prix.”
In a letter seen by the Guardian, it added that the Bahraini government had also promised that “anyone who merely criticized or continues to criticize Formula 1 in Bahrain is free to do so.”
F1’s willingness to accept the word of the Bahraini regime has infuriated human rights groups, who point out that the court judgement against Yusuf said she had written “no to Formula races on occupied Bahraini land” in one post, while in another she claimed that F1 coming to her country was “nothing more than a way for the [ruling] Al Khalifa family to whitewash their criminal record and gross human-rights violations.”
She also called for a “Freedom for the Formula Detainees” march to highlight protestors who had been jailed for criticizing the race, which was canceled in 2011 after demonstrations in the country.
Human Rights Watch Lebanon and Bahrain researcher Aya Majzoub said F1 was guilty of “looking the other way” and was “complicit in Bahrain’s attempted use of the Grand Prix to whitewash those abuses.”
“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,” she said.
BIRD director of advocacy Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei said he was stunned at F1’s response.
It sent the world an “appalling message that its supposed commitment to human rights in reality means nothing” just weeks before this month’s Bahrain Grand Prix, he added.
Meanwhile, British politician Paul Scriven said he would be pressing Yousif’s case with senior F1 figures next week.
“It is clear the senior people running F1 are not taking their responsibilities seriously in dealing with human rights abuses,” he said. “If F1 leaders won’t deal with human rights abuses that are directly linked to their sporting events, then maybe it’s time to take the case direct to the sponsors, teams and individual drivers.”
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS