Deportation fears for Russian band held in Thailand

MOSCOW

Members of a dissident Russian-Belarusian rock band were being held in a Thai prison on Jan. 31 after being detained on a famed holiday island, as calls mounted for them not to be deported to Russia.

Thai officials detained members of the band Bi-2, whose members have criticized President Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine, last week after they played a gig on Phuket, a southern island popular with Russian holidaymakers.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said they would face "persecution" if returned to Russia, pointing to comments by a Kremlin foreign ministry spokeswoman accusing the band of "sponsoring terrorism."

A post on the band's official Telegram channel on Jan. 31 said singer Egor Bortnik, known by his stage name Lyova, had left Thailand.

"Lyova Bi-2 flew to Israel, the rest of the group members are still in a migration prison in a cramped cell for 80 people," the post read.

Thai officials have confirmed that they arrested "seven or eight" people last week in Phuket for performing without the correct work permits, and said they could face deportation.

A police source told AFP that "four or five" were now being held at a detention center in Bangkok.

The organizers of the Thailand concerts, VPI Event, said all the necessary permits were obtained, but the band had been issued tourist visas in error.

"Typically, in such cases, migration services contact the organizer of the event to apply appropriate sanctions," VPI said. "But in this case, the attention of the migration services was focused exclusively on the artists."

VPI said the Russian consulate had waged a campaign to cancel the concerts since December.

"We are making every effort to free the artists, but we are facing unprecedented pressure at every stage. We hope for a favorable resolution of the situation in the very near future," VPI said.

Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya urged Thailand to "find a solution" to ensure the band's freedom.

"I'm worried about the situation involving the Belarus-born rock band Bi-2," she wrote on social media platform X.

"It's now absolutely clear that Russia is behind the operation to deport the band."

Bi-2, which has several members with dual nationality, including Israeli and Australian, is well known in Russia. Several of their concerts were cancelled in 2022 after they refused to play at a venue with banners supporting the war in Ukraine, after which they left Russia.

One of the band's founders has openly denounced the Putin government, saying it makes him feel "only disgust" and accusing the long-serving leader of having "destroyed" Russia.