The Bahrain Cycling Team has come under pressure before it has even been properly established as human rights groups have appealed to the UCI to prevent the team from entering the sport.
The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) sent a joint letter (available below) on Monday to UCI President Brian Cookson, raising “serious concerns” over Prince Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the man behind the team that plans to launch at WorldTour level next year.
The groups point to allegations of human rights violations made against Nasser, including torture, and they argue that granting his team access to cycling’s top tier would amount to a contravention of the UCI’s own code of ethics, as well as causing “severe reputational damage” to cycling. International organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) have echoed these concerns to Cyclingnews.
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“Prince Nasser is throwing money at the international cycling to use it as PR to whitewash his past in Bahrain. It's the duty of the UCI to reject the Bahrain Cycling Team WorldTour license,” said Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, BIRD’s Director of Advocacy, in a statement sent to Cyclingnews.
The Bahrain Cycling Team was announced late last month after months of speculation.
Nasser is the son of the King of Bahrain and is president of both the Bahrain Olympic Committee and the Supreme Council for Youth and Sport. The allegations against him relate to the Arab Spring of 2011, which led to uprisings across countries in north Africa and the Middle East and a government crackdown in Bahrain.
The full letter from BIRD and ECCHR:
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