Human rights organisations call for investigation into Bahrain GP

The Bahrain Grand Prix has always been one of the more controversial GPs on the calendar. This season that will not change as a collection of 22 human rights organisations have called for an independent investigation into the race in an open letter to Stefano Domenicali, the FIA and Lewis Hamilton. The call is supported by 57 UK MPs.

The intention is to investigate the impact of the Grand Prix on the human rights situation in Bahrain. According to them, since the uprising in 2011 this has only gotten worse and the Grand Prix has been used by the regime in Bahrain to legitimize their policies.

"Any semblance of democracy has been abandoned as the government outlawed opposition political parties, forcibly closed Bahrain's only independent newspaper and severely curtailed freedom of assembly, forbidding unlicensed gatherings of more than five people." the letter read.

F1 sees its presence as mostly positive

Formula 1 announced in a statement via The Guardian that it keeps a close eye on the situation in the countries they visit. They still have the belief that they can make a positive contribution with their presence. The government of Bahrain in turn says that in recent years it has worked closely with international institutions such as the United Nations to ensure human rights in the country.

Remarkably, Lewis Hamilton is also written to, something that also happened in relation to the GP of Saudi Arabia. Last season in Bahrain he was written to by an eleven year old boy whose father was unjustly sentenced to death after supporting a movement for democracy.

"Lewis, please save my father," the letter read. This moved Hamilton enormously and during the second race weekend in December he planned to address the crown prince of Bahrain about it. Due to his infection with the coronavirus this never happened.