Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Oct 03, 2025

F1 faces calls to quit Saudi Arabia while prisoner’s family asks Hamilton to help

F1 faces calls to quit Saudi Arabia while prisoner’s family asks Hamilton to help

The human rights group Reprieve has demanded F1 ends its association with Saudi Arabia, after the family of a teenager sentenced to death pleaded with Lewis Hamilton to speak out
The human rights group Reprieve has demanded Formula One ends its association with Saudi Arabian sportswashing after the family of a teenager sentenced to death wrote to Lewis Hamilton pleading with him to speak out on their son’s behalf before this weekend’s race.

In documents sent from Abdullah al-Howaiti’s prison cell and seen by the Guardian, he cites the torture and abuse he says he has suffered at the hands of the Saudi authorities as F1 once more prepares to race in the country that recently carried out 81 executions in a single day. In a report issued in January, a group of UN experts classified some of Saudi Arabia’s violations of international law as potentially “crimes against humanity” as the state continues to execute minors.

When Saudi Arabia held its first grand prix last year, Hamilton was critical of F1’s decision to race there. “Do I feel comfortable here? I wouldn’t say I do,” he said. “But it’s not my choice to be here, the sport has taken the choice to be here.”

Howaiti was arrested when he was 14, accused of the robbery of a jewellery store during which a policeman was killed. His family maintain, with CCTV evidence and written statements from witnesses, that he was nowhere near the store at the time but with friends.

He has stated in diary entries from prison, seen exclusively by the Guardian, that after arrest he was repeatedly tortured until he signed a blank piece of paper as a confession.

“He continued beating me, and every time I took my foot off the table, he beat me on my body until I passed out. He poured water on my face and turned on the air conditioning on cold and made me stand against it for half an hour,” Howaiti records, and also states that he was forced to participate in torturing his own brother.

He was originally sentenced to death in 2019 when he was 17. Saudi Arabia’s supreme court overturned the sentence last year but this month he was once more sentenced to death.

Regardless of the doubt as to his guilt or otherwise, the sentence stands in contradiction to Saudi Arabia’s repeated public claims that no one in the country will be executed for a crime committed as a minor. His family have made a heartfelt plea to Hamilton to intervene.

“Our cries for justice have not been heard,” they wrote to the seven-time world champion. “Maybe, if you say his name, those who decide his fate will listen. Will you raise your voice to save Abdullah? Whether this is in private conversations with the authorities or in public while you are here in Saudi Arabia to race, we believe it can make a difference.”

The United Nations’ Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has issued a damning assessment of Howaiti’s case. It stated serious doubts over the legitimacy of his trial, that the courts ignored his age, in breach of the UN convention on the rights of the child, and that there is a systemic problem with arbitrary detention in Saudi Arabia, noting: “Widespread or systematic imprisonment or other severe deprivation of liberty in violation of the rules of international law may constitute crimes against humanity.”

The UN high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, condemned the recent executions and reported the UN believed that of the 81 convicted of “terror offences”, 41 were Muslims from the Shia minority who had taken part in anti-government protests, calling for greater political participation.

Last week the sport’s chief executive, Stefano Domenicali, said he was alarmed at the executions but insisted F1 could “shine a spotlight” on human rights abuses. The Reprieve director, Maya Foa, dismissed his argument. She said F1’s presence in Saudi Arabia was sportswashing, bringing legitimacy to the regime.

“By racing in Saudi Arabia, Formula One is effectively saying that executing people for taking part in pro-democracy protests is OK,” she said. “It’s telling the Saudi authorities they can wash out the bloodstains of a mass execution and show up at the chequered flag days later to hand over a trophy. The almost daily executions this week show they have heard this message loud and clear.

“F1 showed it is capable of decisive action to protect human rights when it dropped the Russian GP in a matter of hours. Its failure to respond to Saudi Arabia’s execution crisis is a shameful double standard.”

The Saudi authorities were contacted for a comment but did not reply. F1 issued a statement reiterating: “We take our responsibilities on rights very seriously and set high ethical standards for counterparties and those in our supply chain, which are enshrined in contracts, and we pay close attention to their adherence.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×