Amnesty calls on Hamilton and Formula 1 to take a stance on Saudi Arabia
F1 News
- GPblog.com
On Thursday Formula 1 officially announced that there will be a Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia from 2021 onwards. Many people think that this is not the right step for F1 and Amnesty International has already warned F1 about the human rights record of the country.
Amnesty International are making their voice heard after F1 announced the news. Felix Jakens, Amnesty UK's head of campaign, has informed The Telegraph that their human right's record should be highlighted and called on the sport's biggest stars to make a difference.
"If the highest-ranking sports figure dares to come out with: 'Actually, this is a country where they treat human rights terribly', then that does away with Saudi Arabia's shine and its ability to make their image sportingly good'."
F1 must take action
"It is incredibly important that Lewis should be able to give his opinion on this. However, it is not only up to the drivers, but to the whole of society, to be aware of what is happening in Saudi Arabia. If the right people are prepared to give their opinion on this, it may bring Saudi Arabia's human rights record back to the fore and put it under pressure."
"The F1 talks about diversification and inclusiveness and it is attractive to LGBT people and should make sustained efforts to improve human rights there before this race."