Ahead of Bahrain Grand Prix 90 lawmakers slam F1 & FIA for “actively facilitating sportswashing” of Gulf human rights abuses
On 16 March 2022, 90 politicians have Written to President of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), Mohammed Ben Sulayem, stating that the FIA and Formula 1 (F1) are “actively facilitating sportswashing in Gulf countries” and their failure to raise abuses committed by Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE creates a “stark double standard” in comparison to the FIA’s position on the war in Ukraine, calling on the FIA to “apply the same moral standards” everywhere and adopt a human rights policy.
The letter comes days ahead of the F1 Gulf Air Grand Prix in Bahrain, with the following race set to take place in Saudi Arabia, and highlights the participation of Gulf states in the ongoing military campaign waging a “catastrophic” war in Yemen. Politicians commended Ben Sulayemen on the FIA’s s condemnation of the Russian war in Ukraine, but called upon him to ensure that the FIA take a “public stance” on the 7-year-long war in Yemen too. The FIA was told to “publicly sympathise with these victims”, as they had done with victims in Ukraine
The letter’s signatories include members of the UK, EU, Spanish, French, Irish, Italian, and German parliaments, and was sent by Brendan O’Hara MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Democracy and Human Rights in the Gulf.
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