Protesters have clashed with police in Bahrain hours before a Formula One race begins in the Gulf nation. The violence overshadowing the event has focused world attention on the country's pro-democracy struggle.
Renewed clashes between anti-government protesters and police erupted in Bahrain overnight to Sunday just hours before a Formula One race was due to begin in the country.
Shiite demonstrators threw petrol bombs and rocks while calling on the country's Sunni king, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, to step down. Police responded with teargas, rubber bullets and birdshot.
The fresh violence came after a protester was found dead in the Shiite village of Shakhura on Saturday, where the opposition al-Wefaq movement said security forces brutally attacked demonstrators on Friday night.
The Interior Ministry said the death of 36-year-old Salah Abbas Habib was being investigated as a murder.
Demonstrators have also called for the release of prominent Shiite activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who has been on hunger strike since early February after being jailed for helping an uprising last year.
The interior ministry said on Sunday, however, that Khawaja was in "good health" and would meet Denmark's ambassador that same day. Khawaja is a citizen of both Bahrain and Denmark.
Government crackdown
The ruling family crushed Arab Spring demonstrations last year, with 14 men being imprisoned as ringleaders. The government says it has since enacted reforms in the country.
The protesters have denounced the Grand Prix due to begin on Sunday as a spectacle designed as a smokescreen to hide the true situation in the island kingdom. Some banners carried during a march of 7,000 people on Saturday showed Formula One drivers as riot police beating up protesters.
Bahrain's government is thought to have spent $40 million (30.3 million euros) to host the event, which has drawn more than 100,000 visitors.
While motor sports journalists have been invited to cover the race, some reporters who usually write on Middle East politics have been denied visas.
Last year, the race was cancelled amid security concerns over anti-government demonstrations.
Formula One 'bubble'
Competitors taking part in the race have been largely shielded from events in the rest of the country.
German Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel, who starts at pole position, said shortly after his arrival on Thursday that he thought much of what was being reported was hype.
He said he looked forward to getting in the car and dealing with the "stuff that really matters - tire temperatures, cars."
On Saturday, Jean Todt, the president of the International Automobile Federation that governs Formula One, said he was sorry "about what had been reported," but added that he was not sure that "all that has been reported corresponds to the reality of what is happening in this country."
tj/ncy (Reuters, AFP)
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