Russian tourist deported from Bali over nude photo on sacred tree
- Luiza Kosykh was sent back to Moscow days after her arrest, in the latest incident involving foreigners on the Indonesian resort island
- Her nude photograph in front of a 700-year-old banyan had gone viral, angering local Hindus who revere the tree
.png?itok=arIb17P0)
The 40-year-old woman, identified as Luiza Kosykh, left Bali’s Denpasar on a late Sunday flight to Moscow, Bali legal and human rights agency official I Nengah Sukadana said, just days after she was detained by immigration officials.
Kosykh was arrested on Wednesday after her nude photo in front of the 700-year-old banyan went viral, angering local Hindus who revere the tree as sacred.
She claimed the nude photograph was taken a few years ago and that she did not know the tree was considered sacred.
02:17
Bali plans to end visas-on-arrival for Russian and Ukrainian tourists after series of violations
The Russian, who claims to be a property investor, entered Bali in January using a temporary-stay visa which would have been valid until December of next year.
Her deportation came less than two weeks after a Russian man got booted off the island for posting a photograph of himself half-naked atop a sacred mountain.
The palm-fringed hotspot has vowed a crackdown on misbehaving tourists after a spate of incidents including acts of disrespect to the predominantly Hindu island’s culture.
Indonesia to deport US woman who tweeted that Bali is LGBT friendly
The immigration department said it was pushing the local government to finish a guide for tourists who wish to visit Bali.
“Not all tourists know what’s allowed and what’s not allowed in Bali. Therefore we urge the locals to observe their environment to prevent the incident from repeating,” local legal and human rights agency official Anggiat Napitupulu told a press conference Sunday.
