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. Saudi Arabia’s supreme court overturned the sentence last year but this month he was once more sentenced to death. 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. Its failure to respond to Saudi Arabia’s execution crisis is a shameful double standard.”.

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