Human rights activists in Bahrain have been voicing their opposition to the Formula One Grand Prix Race which is still scheduled to go ahead there this weekend.

The scenes of daily street protests by hundreds in the capital Manama are becoming very familiar to the world as it watches the Gulf state. It's a startling indication of the oppression felt by many in the mainly Shi'ite communities, who are also unafraid of the consequences as they chant anti-government slogans calling for democracy. Here riot police are pushing protesters off the main roads and into the city's back streets to try and contain them.

Fears over the merits of pressing forward with the F1 race and the safety of people involved with it have been heightened after mechanics from the Force India race team had to flee from a petrol bomb incident. Yet it seems organisers don't want to miss out on what will be a very lucrative weekend for Bahrain, despite yesterday's frightening attack.

Hamida Saeed Al-Naimi attended a press conference yesterday to highlight her son's plight. Murthada Salah is one of Bahrain's Volleyball stars, who's in jail for his views. She says '…Our sportsmen are suffering, they are not criminals, not killers, all they did was express an opinion."

Tom Malinowski from Human Rights Watch said the government is playing politics with the race.

Teams have arrived and practice is already underway for the race.