Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix
Bahrain
2004 – Present (20 Years of Racing)
The Mechanism
In 2004, Bahrain became the first Middle Eastern country to host a Formula 1 Grand Prix. The event was explicitly designed as a "rebranding" tool. Former F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone later admitted, "This is what you wanted to do, to use the brand to promote the country…It suited us and it suited them."
Mapping supply chains to prove that Western construction and hospitality brands are legally liable for the forced labour in their Gulf operations.
Compiling admissible evidence of illegal recruitment fees to support criminal prosecution of predatory agencies.
Documented Evidence of Abuse
Mapping supply chains to prove that Western construction and hospitality brands are legally liable for the forced labour in their Gulf operations.
When pro-democracy protests erupted in 2011, the race was cancelled. In retaliation, security forces killed protesters, including Salah Abbas Habib, whose body was found on the eve of the rescheduled 2012 race. No investigation was ever conducted by F1 into his death.
Security raids consistently spike in the weeks leading up to the Grand Prix. In 2023, four activists, including former political prisoners Hajer Mansoor and Najah Yusuf, were detained simply for protesting near the circuit.
Despite F1's "We Race as One" human rights pledge, the 2025 Grand Prix proceeded amidst a fresh wave of arrests. Activist Ali Al Hajee was detained days before the event, and police raided the homes of families of political prisoners to pre-emptively silence them.
Formula 1 claims to have a "binding human rights policy," but in 20 years, it has never sanctioned Bahrain for violations directly linked to its event. Instead, it renewed the hosting contract for another 15 years, effectively guaranteeing that the cycle of sportswashing, and the repression required to sustain it, will continue until 2036.
The Bahrain Grand Prix is a state security operation. By refusing to enforce its own human rights clauses, Formula 1 has become a co-architect of the abuse, allowing its brand to be used as a shield for a regime that jails those who dare to ask for their freedom.