Israel Demands Not To Deport Bi-2 Musicians Detained InThailand To Russia

The US, Australian and German embassies in Thailand are also addressing the issue.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs opposed the deportation to Russia of members of the Bi-2 band, detained in Thailand after the concert on January 24, Ynet reports.

The department intervened after the musicians, known for their anti-war position and criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin, ended up in a Bangkok prison at the request of Moscow.

Four members of the group are Israeli citizens, two have US and Australian passports. The issue of their deportation is now being decided. However, despite the fact that the musicians should be deported to their countries of citizenship, Moscow “puts significant pressure on the Thai authorities,” demanding that they be extradited to Russia, the publication writes.

The Foreign Ministry and the Israeli Embassy in Bangkok are working to prevent this from happening, urging local authorities to ensure the safety of the band members. The US, Australian and German embassies in Thailand are also addressing the issue.

In the near future, diplomats will hold talks with Deputy Foreign Minister of Thailand Jakkapong Sangmani. Since Bi-2 lead singer Yegor Bortnik (Leva) entered the country with an Israeli passport, and the rest of the band musicians — with Russian documents, Thai officials are ready to consider Israeli requests only in relation to him, Ynet notes.

In Russia, musicians are required to be detained and a case brought against them for “promoting terrorist activities” (Article 205.1 of the Criminal Code), writes Shot. According to the channel, Moscow expects that five members of the band, who presented Russian passports at the border, will be deported to the country. This is unlikely to affect the founders of Bi-2, Yegor Bortnik and Alexander Uman (Shura), since the former used an Israeli identity card, and the latter an Australian one.

The organization “Veterans of Russia” stated that they would seek criminal prosecution of the musicians, since Bortnik spoke in support of Ukraine. “He has repeatedly reported on social media about the purchase of equipment for Ukraine and the obligation to assist the Armed Forces of Ukraine until the end of the conflict with the Russian Federation,” said Ildar Rezyapov, chairman of the organization.

Musicians of Bi-2 were detained after a concert in Phuket for performing without work visas. Each of the musicians was fined $95, but they were not released, but were sent to a temporary detention center and then transported to Bangkok. According to politician Dmitry Gudkov, the deportation of the group members was demanded by the Russian Consul General in Phuket, Vladimir Sosnov.

The Bi-2 band are natives of Babruisk, Belarus.