Bahrain Grand Prix tensions mount

The body of a man was found Saturday in a village outside Manama, police said, as opposition activists accused the government of cracking down on demonstrations ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Police have not confirmed the identity of the body, which local residents say was found on a rooftop on a farm. Residents say he was a young opposition activist shot Friday night as police chased a group of protesters in the area. There are mounting fears that civil unrest in Bahrain could upend Sunday's race and pose a threat to Formula 1 teams and fans. Last year's race was canceled twice because of the unrest, but the sport's governing body said Friday the event would go ahead as planned despite tension on Bahrain's streets. Check points are in place on the streets of Manama and near the race circuit Saturday but the security presence is less heavy than Friday, witnesses say.The body was found in the village of Shakura, north of Manama. Police and protesters clashed in the area Friday night, residents said, with security forces making use of tear gas and stun grenades. The Bahraini government played down any risk to visitors Friday, when preliminary race events got under way, saying the Grand Prix would act as a unifying force amid the nation's civil unrest. "The government guarantees the safety of everyone. We are very confident about our security measures that we have in place," Fahad Albinali, spokesman for the Bahrain Information Affairs Authority, told CNN. Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa told reporters that canceling the race would play into extremists' hands, according to a report Friday in the state-run Bahrain News Agency. "The Formula 1 race allows us to build bridges between communities, get people working together," said the crown prince. "It allows us to celebrate our nation as an idea that is positive, not one that is divisive." He and Albinali echoed a government statement issued earlier that reported there are no problems. "The three-day Bahrain Grand Prix began today absolutely safely and without incident. Bahrain is a safe country and there is no reason for any Formula 1 team to have concerns about security," the government said.The statement was in response to remarks by former lawmaker Mattar Mattar, who said the government had increased the number of arrests in the days leading up to the event. "So the government decided to control the situation just by excess of force and by using more violence, and this is the policy that the regime has used always," he said. A human rights activist, Nabeel Rajab, also accused the government of detaining and torturing "at least half" of the Formula 1 staff in Bahrain. "We don't want Formula 1 to look like it is a sport of dictators. We need it to look like it is a sport of those people who love the sport," he said. The crown prince said demonstrations that took place Friday were part of the political process, like in any country, the Bahrain News Agency reported. Claiming that some security personnel who had been heavy-handed in the past have been held accountable, he condemned violence on all sides -- including by demonstrators trying to get, in his words, the world's attention. Specifically, the government denied that any torture or mistreatment of Bahraini racing employees has occurred, adding that it takes such allegations seriously. "The Grand Prix has always had widespread domestic support and will clearly act as an important unifier, following a challenging period where significant and important lessons have been learnt," the government statement said. On Friday, tens of thousands attended an anti-government demonstration in the capital, Manama, and many then began marching toward the former Pearl Roundabout, the center of last year's revolt, activist Mohammed Muscati told CNN. Some of the protesters called for the release of Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, a human rights activist who has drawn international attention with a hunger strike he's sustained for more than two months. One of his daughters, Maryam, says he has now stopped drinking water and taking fluids intravenously and is at serious risk of death. Four U.S. senators -- Richard Durbin, Robert Casey, Marco Rubio and Ron Wyden -- sent a letter to the crown prince urging him to release al-Khawaja, according to rights advocacy group Freedom Now. The controversy about the race spilled over into cyberspace Friday, with the apparent hacking of the Formula 1 website. The site was shut down, and a message was left condemning the government and the Formula 1's decision to hold the race. The website appeared to be operating normally again Saturday. Bahrain has declined to extend the visas of non-sports reporting crews from CNN, Reuters and other news agencies and told them they would not be allowed to stay for the race, which is a big draw, both in terms of investment and fans. Formula 1 is the world's most popular motor sport, and races have a TV audience of more than 500 million. When Bahrain canceled the race last year, it lost an estimated $480 million to $800 million of investment that would have come from hosting it. The unrest in Bahrain makes hosting the race precarious because the racers must pass through some areas where clashes have occurred to get to the circuit, which is in the desert.