Bahrain Grand Prix: MPs want race cancelled because of unrest
16 April, 2013 – BCC Sport

A group of British MPs have called for the Bahrain Grand Prix to be cancelled amid unrest in the Gulf state.

A week of protests to coincide with this weekend’s race began last Friday, organised by the opposition to the ruling royal family.

In a letter to F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Democracy in Bahrain said: “We request you cancel the Grand Prix.

“It is likely to attract as much negative publicity as last year.”

The APPG has also written to broadcasters, teams, drivers and sponsors ahead of the Grand Prix.

The 2011 event was postponed and later cancelled after month-long pro-democracy protests were crushed and at least 35 people died.

Reaction of F1 teams

Ferrari: “It is up to the federation [the FIA] to give us any indications as to whether extra precautions need to be taken. So far, no [they haven’t].”

Red Bull: “The team will be vigilant and take sensible precautions, but otherwise we are approaching this race in the same way we do all races.”

McLaren: “The team will be staying very near the circuit, at a hotel that has very good security, and we feel that no extra security measures are therefore necessary for us.”

Williams: “We are adhering to our normal security measures in Bahrain and just using usual common sense, nothing more.”

Mercedes: “The safety of our employees is our highest priority and we will follow the guidance of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) concerning travel to the region.”

Last year’s race went ahead once Ecclestone and governing body the FIA said they had been assured the kingdom was safe for F1 personnel.

There are similar concerns this time around and, in a letter signed by 20 MPs, the All-Party Group asked Ecclestone to call off the Grand Prix.

“Since April 2012, many more people including children have lost their lives and the whole country exists in fear and intimidation,” wrote Andy Slaughter, chairman of the Group.

“Last year’s race was held under conditions of martial law. Three hundred protesters were arrested, some spending months in jail.

“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.”

A report in the New York Times claimed that authorities in Bahrain were increasing security following a series of explosions in the country. …more

Bahrain: new penalty for ‘insulting’ King muzzles activists ahead of Grand Prix
16 April, 2013 – Amnesty International

A move by Bahrain’s government to jail anyone found guilty of insulting the Gulf nation’s King for up to five years is a new attempt to crush dissent before the country hosts the Formula One Grand Prix later this week, Amnesty International has said.

According to state media, on Sunday Bahrain’s cabinet – chaired by the Prime Minister and the newly-appointed deputy Prime Minister, the Crown Prince – endorsed an amendment to Article 214 of the Penal Code, increasing the penalty for offending King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah or the country’s flag and other national symbols.

The amendment, which has now been referred to the National Assembly, would make such offences punishable by up to five years in prison in addition to steep fines.

The Bahraini authorities claim nobody is detained for peacefully expressing their views and exercising their rights to freedom of expression, but activists have already served jail time for insulting the King. Last November three men – ‘Abdullah ‘Alwi al-Hashemi, ‘Ali Mohammad ‘Ali and ‘Ali Abdul Nabi al-Hayeki – were sentenced to between four and six months in prison for messages posted on their Twitter accounts which were deemed to be insulting to the King. Two have since been released after serving their sentences, but Abdullah Alwi al-Hashemi is still in prison and is due to be released at the beginning of May.

Meanwhile, on 12 March Bahrain’s Public Prosecutor announced on state media that six people had been arrested for defaming the King on Twitter. Separate trials against the six started on 24 March – amongst them 17-year-old Ali Faisal al-Shufa has been charged under Article 214 of the Penal Code for “insulting the King of Bahrain on Twitter”. The latest proposal seeks to use the Penal Code to impose even stiffer punishments in similar cases in the future.

Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui said:

“Increasing the punishment for criticism of Bahrain’s King is a further attempt to muzzle activists ahead of the upcoming Grand Prix.

“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.

“Amnesty International has repeatedly called on the Bahraini authorities to repeal articles of the Penal Code used to criminalise freedom of expression, including Article 214 which this measure would amend to increase the punishment to up to five years in prison.

“These Penal Code articles are being used to jail dissenters in direct violation of the right to freedom of expression, since they impose restrictions that are not permitted under international law.”

In a briefing released in February, Amnesty documented how, two years on from the 2011 protests in Bahrain, prisoners of conscience remain behind bars and activists continue to be jailed just for expressing their views – whether via social media or in peaceful marches.

Public figures, including those exercising the highest political authority such as heads of state and government, should be legitimately subject to criticism and political opposition, as highlighted by the UN Human Rights Committee. …more

Britain silent on ‘Butcher of Bahrain’
Tony Thompson, Crime Correspondent – The Observer – 29 June, 2002

The Government has been accused of stalling attempts to prosecute a British citizen accused of running a brutal regime of torture in Bahrain in order to protect the UK’s relationship with the Arab state.

Scots-born Colonel Ian Henderson, dubbed the ‘Butcher of Bahrain’, spent 30 years as head of the Bahraini secret police. During this time his men allegedly detained and tortured thousands of anti-government activists.

Their activities are said to have included the ransacking of villages, sadistic sexual abuse and using power drills to maim prisoners. On many occasions they are said to have detained children without informing their parents, only to return them months later in body bags. Between 1994 and 1998 at least seven people died as a result of torture at the hands of the Bahraini regime.

Human rights organisations have collected evidence from thousands of victims of the regime who have provided horrific accounts of the torture they suffered. Yaser al-Sayegh’s case is typical. ‘My wrists were shackled to my ankles and they suspended me upside down from a pole,’ he said. ‘They then beat me on my legs and feet and face with iron bars and rubber hoses.’

Hashem Redha, a Bahrainian pro-democracy activist who now lives in Britain, said he was attacked personally by Henderson. ‘He tortured me one time. He kicked me and shook me two times. He said, “If you like to be hit, we can hit you more than that”.’

A Carlton documentary, Blind Eye to the Butcher, to be screened on Wednesday, reveals that despite solid evidence torture took place on many occasions, a two-year investigation by Scotland Yard’s Serious Crimes Branch and questions being asked in Parliament, Henderson has never been interviewed about the allegations.

However, under international law, he would be responsible for acts of torture carried out under his command, regardless of whether he was personally involved.

A file was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service last August but police say they are still waiting for a response. …more

Ecclestone repeats Bahrain denials
Keith Collantine – 15 April, 2013 – NBC

Bernie Ecclestone has repeated his claim that there are no demonstrations against this weekend’s Formula One race in Bahrain.

“They’re demonstrating now? I didn’t know that,” he said when asked by news agency AFP. “There’s nobody demonstrating.”

A car exploded late on Sunday in the financial district of the country’s capital Manama. A group calling itself the February 14 movement – a reference to the pro-democracy protests of 2011 that were brutally suppressed by the government – claimed responsibility.

That year’s race was cancelled due to the crisis. Last year’s Grand Prix went ahead amid extremely tight security. Despite that Force India team members were involved in an incident when a petrol bomb struck one of their vehicles. They later missed one of the practice sessions so their team could return to their hotel before nightfall.

Bahrain information minister Samira Rajab blamed the explosion on “terrorists” but claimed “there has been no major escalation of violence on the ground recently as the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix is drawing nearer.”

International media reports protests have been happening every day. Last week Human Rights Watch accused the Bahrain government of arresting over 20 people without warrants to prevent them from protesting during the race weekend.

Meanwhile the hacking group Anonymous, which took down the official Formula One website during last year’s Grand Prix, has threatened to cause further disruption again this year.

Asked if he thought the race would be a success Ecclestone replied “there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be”. …more

Four NGOs, including the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, the Bahrain Press Association, the Campaign Against Arms Trade, and the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights have submitted a series of letters to F1 race organisers, drivers, sponsors and broadcasters to ask them to reconsider their participation in the event that is scheduled for this Sunday, April 21st.

Bahrain NGOs Publish Letters to F1 Organizers in Advance of Race

The full text of the letter addressed to Formula One teams is below:

Dear Formula One team,

We are writing to ask you to rethink your commitment to the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix and pull out of the race. If the race goes ahead, it will be taking place in a country whose government continues to commit gross human rights violations, from arbitrary arrests to torture. Bahrain’s jails contain hundreds of political prisoners, police use excess force with impunity, and opposition members have been stripped of their citizenship.

Given the global controversy and public outcry, last year’s Bahrain Grand Prix was an embarrassment to the sport and all those who took part. The race was used by the Bahrain government to broadcast a false picture of normality to the outside world, whilst also preventing entry to journalists who wanted to see the reality on the ground.

The 2012 race was held under conditions which effectively amounted to martial law. In the weeks preceding it, many activists and protest leaders were arrested, some of whom subsequently spent months in jail. Foreign journalists were attacked, arrested, and even deported. During the weekend of the race, a young man, Salah Abbas Habib, was shot dead by security forces. His body, bearing marks of torture, was dumped on a rooftop.

The situation in Bahrain has not improved since last year. If anything, it is getting worse. The Bahrain government has made many pledges of reform, but it is doing nothing to implement them. In November 2012, a report by the Project on Middle East Democracy found that only three of the twenty-six recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry have been fully implemented. In the same month, Amnesty International released a report describing the human rights situation in Bahrain as, “Reform shelved, repression unleashed”. In February 2013, Human Rights Watch visited Bahrain and found there to be “no progress on reform”. In the same month, police killed two protesters.

The race is scheduled to take place at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) on 21 April 2013. In 2011, at the height of the government crackdown, many permanent members of BIC staff were dismissed from their jobs, arrested and tortured. To date, there has been no justice for these Formula One workers. By continuing to race on this track, Formula One is facilitating the culture of impunity through which the authorities have operated. …more