The FIA has reinstated the Bahrain Grand Prix on the 2011 F1 Grand Prix calendar, despite numerous independent reports of government-sponsored torture and murder of political dissidents in that country, since February 14 of this year. The FIA report, endorsing the re-institution of the event on the F1 calendar, has just been leaked, and has been widely panned as an embarrassingly flimsy defense of a brutal regime for the sake of profit.

You can download the full transcript of the leaked FIA Bahrain report after the jump.

The so-called Jasmine Revolution, and extended “Arab Spring”, has seen pro-democracy revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, with continuing revolutionary struggle in Libya, Yemen and Syria. Bahrain has experienced heightened levels of unrest, but severe military oppression by the regime has slowed the momentum of protest in that country.

The Bahraini regime has been accused (with strong evidence) by human rights organisations and international news networks, of the murder of at least 31 citizens, and the arrest and torture of thousands more. But much like Saudi Arabia, and other wealthy Gulf states, Bahrain is a luxury travel and events cash cow for western interests.

One such interested party is the FIA, the body responsible for the organisation and management of the Formula One Grand Prix*.

The Bahrain Grand Prix was introduced to the F1 calender in 2004, and has made a reappearance in every year since then. Scheduled for 13 March 2011, the Bahrain Grand Prix was struck from the F1 calendar due to unrest in the country. However, following the compilation and review of the leaked report, the FIA has decided to re-instate the race on the 2011 calendar, scheduling it as the last racing round on 30 October 2011.

The report, tabled by FIA commissioner and vice-president, Carlos Gracia, has come under heavy criticism by social media commentators and heavyweight international human rights watchdogs, including online petition powerhouse, Avaaz. The main criticism of the report is its poor array of cited and consulted sources. Gracia only references meetings with government officials, government-endorsed human rights bodies, and Bahraini motorsport officials.

Gracia begins his report with the following statement: “We were provided with a briefing on the actual political situation in Bahrain”, and concludes that there was an “atmosphere of total calm and stability”, and furthermore, “life in Bahrain is completely normal again”.

Ricken Patel, the executive director of Avaaz said, “Reading the FIA’s Bahrain report is like stepping into the Twilight Zone,” and continued, “While FIA’s sham report says that no human rights have been violated, at least 31 Bahrain citizens have been killed and hundreds more tortured and imprisoned.”

Reports of political arrest and torture continue to trickle out of the gulf state, some as recently as yesterday morning.

This is not the first time that the multi-billion dollar motorsport industry and geopolitics have collided, and it won’t be the last.

You can download the full transcript of the leaked FIA Bahrain report HERE.

[Update: The Formula One Teams Alliance has written to the FIA and the FOM, stating that its members do not wish to partake in an October 30 Bahrain GP, for “logistical reasons”. Should this remain the position of the FOTA, a race in Bahrain in 2011 will be highly unlikely.]

*Errata – FOM is responsible for the management of Formula One