Lewis Hamilton and other Formula One drivers have been called upon by human rights groups to speak up against human rights abuses and show solidarity with a rights activist based in Bahrain ahead of the motor racing season’s opening race in the gulf country. The European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR) has asked the drivers to help raise awareness about prominent human rights defender Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who was sentenced to life in prison after participating in 2011 anti-government protests in Bahrain.
The FIA, the motorsport racing federation, recently updated its rules to prevent “political, religious or personal” remarks from being made without prior approval. This sparked an immediate backlash from drivers, notably Lewis Hamilton, who vowed to continue speaking about issues he’s passionate about. The FIA then clarified that drivers will be allowed to make political statements only in “exceptional” circumstances and in “their own space”, and outside of a race, via their social media channels or during an interview.
In its letter to Hamilton, ECDHR urged the seven-time F1 champion to help raise awareness about al-Khawaja’s case and “spread messages of solidarity with those who are suffering at the hands of the Bahraini authorities”. The letter also noted that Hamilton has previously used his profile to address rights abuses and racial injustice around the world.
Human rights campaigners in the United Kingdom have also called on the drivers to use their platform to steer the sport away from a “moral vacuum” by speaking out at the opening race in Bahrain, and the following race in Saudi Arabia. Paul Scriven, a member of Britain’s House of Lords, said that drivers could use their sport “not just for sport’s sake but for good and for change” and “cannot ignore the human rights abuses in the country that they are driving in.”
Lewis Hamilton and other Formula One drivers have been asked by human rights groups to speak out against human rights abuses and show solidarity with a rights activist based in Bahrain ahead of the motor racing season’s opening race in the gulf country. The European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR) has urged the drivers to help raise awareness about prominent human rights defender Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who was sentenced to life in prison after participating in 2011 anti-government protests in Bahrain.
The FIA, the motorsport racing federation, recently updated its rules to prevent “political, religious or personal” remarks from being made without prior approval. This sparked an immediate backlash from drivers, notably Lewis Hamilton, who vowed to continue speaking about issues he’s passionate about. The FIA then clarified that drivers will be allowed to make political statements only in “exceptional” circumstances and in “their own space”, and outside of a race, via their social media channels or during an interview.
In its letter to Hamilton, ECDHR asked the seven-time F1 champion to help raise awareness about al-Khawaja’s case and “spread messages of solidarity with those who are suffering at the hands of the Bahraini authorities”. The letter also noted that Hamilton has previously used his profile to address rights abuses and racial injustice around the world.
Human rights campaigners in the United Kingdom have also urged the drivers to use their platform to steer the sport away from a “moral vacuum” by speaking out at the opening race in Bahrain, and the following race in Saudi Arabia. Paul Scriven, a member of Britain’s House of Lords, said that drivers should use their sport “not just for sport’s sake but for good and for change” and “cannot ignore the human rights abuses in the country that they are driving in.”
Lewis Hamilton and other Formula One drivers have been asked by human rights groups to speak out against human rights abuses and show support for a rights activist based in Bahrain before the start of the motor racing season. The European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR) has requested that drivers help raise awareness about prominent human rights defender Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who was sentenced to life in prison after taking part in 2011 anti-government protests in Bahrain.
The FIA, the motorsport racing federation, recently updated its rules to stop “political, religious or personal” remarks from being made without prior approval. This prompted an immediate backlash from drivers, particularly Lewis Hamilton, who promised to keep talking about issues he is passionate about. The FIA then clarified that drivers will be allowed to make political statements only in “exceptional” circumstances and in “their own space”, and outside of a race, via their social media channels or during an interview.
In its letter to Hamilton, ECDHR asked the seven-time F1 champion to help spread awareness about al-Khawaja’s case and “spread messages of solidarity with those who are suffering at the hands of the Bahraini authorities”. The letter also noted that Hamilton has previously used his profile to address rights abuses and racial injustice around the world.
Human rights campaigners in the United Kingdom have also called on the drivers to use their platform to steer the sport away from a “moral vacuum” by speaking out at the opening race in Bahrain, and the following race in Saudi Arabia. Paul Scriven, a member of Britain’s House of Lords, said that drivers can use their sport “not just for sport’s sake but for good and for change” and “cannot ignore the human rights abuses in the country that they are driving in.” Lewis Hamilton has been vocal about using his platform to address issues he is passionate about and has previously spoken out against rights abuses and racial injustice around the world.