BANGKOK: Members of a dissident Russian-Belarusian rock band were being held in a Thai prison on Wednesday (Jan 31) after being detained while playing on a famed holiday island, as calls mounted for them not to be deported to Russia.
Thai officials detained members of the Bi-2 band, whose members have criticised President Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine, last week after they played a gig on the holiday island of Phuket.
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 Wednesday 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 on Wednesday that “four or five” were now being held at a detention centre in Bangkok.
The organisers of the Thailand concerts, VPI Event, said all the necessary permits were obtained, but the band were issued tourist visas in error.
“Typically, in such cases, migration services contact the organiser 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 favourable resolution of the situation in the very near future,” VPI said.
The band, 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.
HRW said Russia had a history of targeting government critics abroad and urged Thailand to let the band go.
“The Thai authorities should immediately release the detained members of Bi-2 and allow them to go on their way,” Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
“Under no circumstances should they be deported to Russia, where they could face arrest or worse for their outspoken criticisms of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s war in Ukraine.” – Reuters
