Formula One in Bahrain: A Distraction from Repression

For two decades, the host has been a staple of the Formula One calendar. But behind the glitz and speed of the race lies a troubling reality: Bahrain’s use of F1 to use its ongoing human rights abuses. The government leverages this high-profile sporting event to polish its international image, while simultaneously silencing dissent, imprisoning[…]

ADHRB, BIRD, and NGOs Call on FIA and Formula One to Urge Bahrain to Release Najah Yusuf and Ahmed Humaidan

27 March 2019 – Yesterday, 26 March 2019, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), along with 13 NGOs, sent a letter to the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) calling on them and Formula One to visit Najah Yusuf and Ahmed Humaidan in prison[…]

ADHRB, BCHR, GCHR and 22 NGOs Call on the Formula One Group to Implement a Freedom Complaints Mechanism to Protect Human Rights in Bahrain

26 March 2019 – Today, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB), Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), and Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), along with 22 other international human rights organizations, issued a joint letter to the Formula One Group, raising concerns regarding the human rights abuses surrounding the race in[…]

ADHRB Highlights Rights Abuses by Bahraini Officials During Formula One Race Activities

Read a pdf of this statement here. In advance of the Formula One Grand Prix Event in Sakhir, Bahrain on 8 April 2018, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) expresses its distress at human rights violations that have occurred surrounding the race in past years. ADHRB also calls upon Formula One to[…]

Rights Groups to F1: Reconsider Plans For Bahrain F1 As Crackdown Intensifies

22 June 2017 – Human rights campaigners have told Formula 1 to “reconsider its plans for a 2018 race in Bahrain”, citing a crackdown on press freedoms and police brutality ahead of this weekend’s Baku Grand Prix. The Bahrain race has been controversial since its cancellation in 2011 and contentious return in 2012, during which[…]