Arrested in Thailand

Russian band fled from deportation to Israel

Bi-2 bandleader Yegor "Lyova" Bortnik (left) and guitarist Aleksandr "Shura" Uman (archive photo)(Bild: Wikimedia Commons/Schekinov Alexey Victorovich/CC BY-SA 3.0)

The dissident Russian rock band Bi-2, which was detained in Thailand, has left for Israel. All band members had left Thailand safely for Tel Aviv, the band announced on Facebook. According to the Israeli news site Ynet, they arrived there early on Thursday morning.

The seven musicians from Bi-2, several of whom also have an Israeli passport and two of whom are no longer Russian citizens, were arrested last week after a concert on the Thai vacation island of Phuket and taken into immigration detention. The media had initially reported that the musicians were to be deported to Russia.

Threat of persecution for criticizing the regime
Human rights activists warned that the group, who were living in exile, would face persecution if they were deported to Moscow because of their public criticism of the Russian government. On Tuesday evening, one of the band founders - Yegor "Lyova" Bortnik - had already flown out to Israel, the band announced, while the rest of the group remained in a migration prison for the time being.

Moscow had demanded their extradition, but Israel's diplomatic efforts meant that the musicians were allowed to travel to Israel, Ynet reported. The band is accused of not having the valid documents for the performance in Phuket. "The reason for the arrest was incorrectly worded documents from the organizers," Bi-2 announced on several social networks.

No appearance in front of Putin banner
According to the NGO Human Rights Watch, the Russian government considers the rock band a threat to national security because it condemns Russia for the war and supports Ukraine. The group already made headlines in April 2022, shortly after the start of the Russian invasion: they refused to play in front of a banner reading "For the President" in the Siberian city of Omsk.