With preparations well underway for Sunday's Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix, a leading human rights group has said torture and ill-treatment are continuing in the Gulf kingdom.

Amnesty International says it has evidence of people being kept in prison for participating in peaceful anti-government protests, and that security forces are using excessive and unnecessary force against demonstrators.

Bahrain's Government has rejected many of the claims.

The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes says demonstrations against the authorities are a daily event.