Deathly F1 in dictatorial Bahrain

This video is called THOUSANDS Of Bahrain Protesters Marching Against Government.

From daily The Guardian in Britain today:

Bahrain grand prix protests – live updates

• Race to go ahead despite death of protester
• ‘Government refusing to release protester’s body’ – activists
• Black smoke over Budaiya ahead of race

Al Jazeera live blog: here.

Teargas on democracy protesters? Bahrain Grand Prix sponsors say ‘no problem’: here.

Bahrain’s Formula 1 is an insult to country’s democratic reformers: here.

The daughter of a prominent Bahraini opposition activist who has been on hunger strike for over two months was arrested on Saturday evening for trying to stage a protest in the capital Manama, activists said: here.

Bahrain’s Formula One Gala Not Going as Planned: here.

Anonymous hacks official F1 website ahead of Bahrain GP: here.

Bahrain Grand Prix: Force India come close to withdrawing. Poorer teams fear lack of security after a protester is killed in the season’s most controversial race: here.

From the Bangkok Post in Thailand:

Bahrain protester dead amid F1 security lockdown

Published: 22/04/2012 at 10:48 AM

Bahrain’s opposition reported the first death in protests timed for Sunday’s controversial Grand Prix as a security lockdown was imposed around the Sakhir Formula One circuit and the king said he is committed to reform.

The body of Salah Abbas Habib, 36, was found in Shakhura village, where security forces had “attacked peaceful protesters, brutally beating some of them with various tools and weapons,” said Al-Wefaq, the Gulf state’s largest Shiite opposition bloc.

It charged that “security forces killed him one day before the final round of the F1 races hosted by Bahrain,” …

The Arab Spring again roared into life on Friday at Egypt’s iconic Tahrir Square, as well as the villages of Bahrain, where strong crowds had gathered to underscore the underlying message that the region’s transition to democracy was far from complete: here.

By David Walsh:

Mass protests in Bahrain in advance of Grand Prix auto race

21 April 2012

In advance of Sunday’s Grand Prix auto race, tens of thousands of protesters took to a major highway in Bahrain Friday to demand democratic rights and called for the downfall of the country’s autocratic regime.

In the face of harsh security measures taken by the regime of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, demonstrators chanted, “The people want to topple the regime” and “Down Hamad,” referring to the hated monarch.

The February 14 Youth Movement had called on social networking sites for “three days of rage” to coincide with the auto race.

On Friday thousands of protesters walked along the roadway from Budaiya, to the west of Manama, the capital. The authorities had banned protests in Manama, the site of the Formula One race. (See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KILfW2beMmk)

When a portion of the crowd headed for Pearl Square, the roundabout that was the center of last year’s protests, police attacked them with teargas and stun grenades. Witnesses also told the media that the security forces fired buckshot to disperse the protesters, wounding dozens.

Bahrain Race Is Not First Controversy for Formula One: here.

‘West doesn’t care what Bahrain does to its people’: here.