Why protests in bahrain

Hundreds of people were arrested, scores were tortured in jail and convicted in front of military tribunals, while more than 4, people were summarily sacked from their jobs, including 29 employees at the Sakhir track. The vast majority of those affected, including all of the BIC employees, were Shia.

An international outcry led to King Hamad appointing a panel of human rights experts to investigate the events of February and March The government says that, as proof of its commitment to reform, the legal and law enforcement systems have been overhauled, employees who were unfairly dismissed have been reinstated, and a special prosecution unit set up to investigate abuse claims.

But critics say that, since the report was released, little has changed. They point to the political prisoners still in jail, to ongoing arrests, to what they say are extra-judicial beatings of young protesters, and to the heavy use of tear gas. Last year's race did go ahead but in an atmosphere of heightened security and ongoing tension far removed from the celebratory mood that F1 and Bahrain had enjoyed before the uprising.

And four mechanics from the Force India team were caught up briefly in a confrontation on a main highway between youths hurling Molotov cocktails and police responding with tear gas. No Force India staff were hurt but two team members subsequently asked to return home. Car blast rocks capital. The government has sought to reassure F1 fans and the international community that this year's race is safe.

At a media conference, Samira Rajab, Bahrain's Information Affairs minister, described the situation in Bahrain as "very reassuring" and blamed foreign media for "blowing the security aspect out of proportion". However a car blast in the heart of Manama a few hours later was a clear indication that, despite the reassurances, all is not well in Bahrain. A shadowy protest group that calls itself the February 14 movement took credit for the explosion.

As the unrest drags on with little progress being made, angry youths from Shia villages continue their daily barrage of Molotov cocktails, burning tyre roadblocks and running battles with the police. The response of the authorities has sometimes been scarcely less violent, with police opening up at close range with birdshot and high levels of tear gas on both peaceful and violent protesters.

Because Bahrain is a tiny place and most of its inhabitants live in an area that is not much larger than London and its suburbs, everyone is affected by the ongoing unrest one way or another.

More than a race. Unlike any of the other F1 venues, Bahrain finds itself stuck in a political quagmire with no easy way out.

F1 organisers would no doubt be delighted if the political controversy around the event died down. But F1 in Bahrain has come to represent much more than a grand prix. Ironically, it is F1's global stature that has guaranteed that the race, unlike any other sporting events held in Bahrain, has become a strategic symbol for both sides. For the government and its supporters, holding an F1 race demonstrates that the kingdom is stable and back on track. For the opposition, the race is little more than an attempt to conceal what they say is the ugly truth of daily life in the country.

For ordinary Bahrainis and members of the large expat community, F1 is a way of putting aside, at least for a few days, the roads blocked by burning tyres, the police checkpoints and the whiff of tear gas in the air. But, with Sunday's explosion, walls being daubed with anti-F1 slogans, and protesters promising further disruption, that may prove hard to do. In all, there are participants in the dialogue, 35 of them from the opposition.

Wefaq walks out of 18 seats. January - The king announces constitutional amendments, giving parliament more powers of scrutiny. Police stop them with teargas and rubber bullets. Over ensuing years, authorities accuse scores of people of militancy in a series of mass trials, which rights activists say have included mostly peaceful opposition members. June - Bahrain orders al-Wefaq closed, accusing it of fomenting sectarian unrest and of having links to a foreign power, in an apparent reference to Iran.

Rajab is released in after a court agrees to pass an alternative non-custodial sentence. Bahrain introduces legislation allowing courts to convert jail terms into non-custodial sentences, including community service, electronic monitoring and repairing criminal damage.

Now in exile in Berlin, Saeed said she cannot return home. The government at the same time refused to accredit two Associated Press journalists and since then has tightly controlled visas to report on the island. As violence escalated over the weeks in February , demonstrations snowballed into a popular movement crossing sectarian divides. The monarchy turned to nearby Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for help, inviting in foreign troops to crush the protests.

After the crackdown, King Hamad ordered an internationally recognized commission of jurists and scholars under the late law professor Cherif Bassiouni to investigate. The resulting page report, based on over 5, interviews with protesters and residents, describes prisons rife with torture, scores of arbitrary arrests and the extraction of forced confessions against those caught in the dragnet.

Detainees, it reported, were beaten and forced to kiss pictures of the king and prime minister. A decade on, activists inside Bahrain and in exile say their country is far less free than it was in Portraying criticism of its rule as an Iranian plot to undermine the country, the government has accelerated its crackdown.

Bahrain blamed Iran for stirring up the protests as well, though the report by Bassiouni and other experts found no evidence of that. Tehran denies interfering in Bahrain, though weaponry seized on the island has been linked back to Iran.

Even Iran, under the former shah, tried to claim Bahrain as part of its territory. Ahead of the anniversary of the events, Bahraini officials have not responded to repeated requests by The Associated Press for comment.