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Agence France-Presse

A dissident Russian-Belarusian rock band held in Thailand on immigration charges have left the kingdom to fly to Israel, according to a post on Thursday on the group’s official Facebook page.
Bi-2 have criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine, and their arrest sparked fears they would be deported to Russia where they would face persecution.
Thailand’s National Security Council, chaired by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, took charge of the case on Wednesday, and early Thursday the band’s Facebook page confirmed they had left the country.
“All musicians of the Bi-2 group have safely left Thailand and are heading to Tel Aviv,” read the post.
Several members of the band have dual nationalities, including Israeli and Australian.
On Wednesday, the band said singer Egor Bortnik, known by his stage name Lyova – had already left Thailand to fly to Israel.
Deputy Police Chief Surachate Hakparn said the band requested to be deported to Israel.
Russians fleeing Ukraine war give boost to Thai tourism, property sales
Human rights advocates in Thailand cautiously welcomed the news.
“Even though they [are] all safe, we still want Thai authorities to respect arrest procedures strictly,” human rights lawyer Pornpen Khongkachonkiet said.
“It could [have] happened to me, you, and others without international attention as this case got.”
Pornpen said the band’s detention was another sign of creeping transnational repression within the kingdom.
Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch (HRW) agreed, adding that “Thailand is vulnerable to effective manipulation by larger states pursuing transnational repression”.
However, he said international pressure – and global economic concerns – had played a significant role.
“Thailand realised that they didn’t need to make a lot of enemies by doing Russia’s bidding in this case,” Robertson said.
“Russia may be a transnational repression superpower but they’re an economic weakling, and Thailand knows that.”


The band were held last week after they played a gig on Phuket, a southern island popular with Russian holidaymakers.
Thai officials said they were arrested for performing without the correct work permits and transferred to an immigration detention centre in Bangkok.
The organisers of the band’s Thailand concerts – which also included a show in the raucous beach resort of Pattaya – said all the necessary permits were obtained, but the band had been issued tourist visas in error.
VPI Event accused the Russian consulate of having waged a campaign to cancel the concerts since December, and said they had faced “unprecedented pressure” as they sought the band’s release.
Bi-2 are 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.
How ‘old friend’ Russia uses memory diplomacy to build Southeast Asia ties
HRW earlier this week urged Thailand to let the band go free, saying they would face “persecution” if returned to Russia – pointing to comments by a Kremlin foreign ministry spokeswoman accusing the band of “sponsoring terrorism”.
It said Russia’s foreign ministry last year designated frontman Bortnik a “foreign agent” for opposing the war in Ukraine
Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya weighed into the case on Wednesday, urging 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 (formerly Twitter).
“It’s now absolutely clear that Russia is behind the operation to deport the band.”


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Thailand

Dissident Russian rockers Bi-2 held in Thailand fly to Israel

Members of the Bi-2 rock band perform at a concert in Moscow. File photo: AP

Russians boost Thai tourism and property sales as they flee Ukraine war

Russian tourists pictured at a beach in Phuket, Thailand. Photo: Reuters

Tourists take pictures at Wat Arun Buddhist temple in Bangkok earlier in December. Photo: AFP

Russian exodus puts Thailand’s tourism rebirth at risk as Asia longs for absent visitors

A Russian tourist named Ivan takes a selfie at Mai Khao Beach in Phuket, Thailand, in January. Photo: Reuters

Russian tourists sit on a beach on the Thai island of Phuket on March 8. Photo: Reuters

A travel agency catering to Russian tourists is seen in Phuket, Thailand. Photo: Shutterstock

Ukrainian people living in Thailand protest against the invasion of Ukraine outside the Russian embassy in Bangkok. Photo: EPA

A money exchange in Pattaya lists the value of the rouble at zero amid a collapse in the Russian currency’s value. Photo: Vijitra Duangdee

International tourists, predominantly Russians, enjoy the beach in Thailand in 2020 despite concerns about the spread of Covid-19. Photo: AFP

Workers in Bali pack up the parasols to close the beach in 2021 as Indonesia imposed emergency measures to help tackle the pandemic. Photo: Reuters

Sambar deer enjoy the peace of dawn on a beach in Bali. File photo: Mark Eveleigh

Ukrainian Marianna Ciereszynska (L) has lived in Bali for seven years. She asks Russian businesses there if they support the war before spending any money with them. Photo: Resty Woro Yuniar

A sign in Pattaya points the way to Moscow. Photo: Vijitra Duangdee

Warning to Putin critics as rockers Bi-2 face deportation from Thailand

The Bi-2 band. Photo: Handout

Maxim Alexandrovich Galkin is a Russian-Israeli comedian, television presenter and singer. He left Russia in March 2022, after the invasion of Ukraine. Photo: Instagram/maxgalkinru

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

The musicians, who criticised Russia’s Putin and the war in Ukraine, have left for Tel Aviv
Thai officials said they were arrested for performing without the correct work permits and transferred to an immigration detention centre in Bangkok


The musicians, who criticised Russia’s Putin and the war in Ukraine, have left for Tel Aviv.


Russia

Vladimir Putin

Ukraine war

Israel