Bangkok, Feb 1 (EFE).- The members of the dissident Russian-Belarusian rock band Bi-2 were on their way to Israel from Thailand on Thursday, allaying fears of deportation to Russia after they were detained over visa issues.
Seven people, including the current six members of the group, were arrested by Thai police last Wednesday on the tourist island of Phuket for allegedly performing without work permits.
«All the Bi-2 musicians have safely left Thailand and are heading to Tel Aviv,» the group wrote in a brief message on Facebook early Thursday.
The group said more details were to come.
On Wednesday, Bi-2’s lead singer Igor Bortnik was deported to Israel, while the rest left for the same destination on Wednesday night.
The self-exiled Bi-2 is one of Russia’s most famous rock bands and critical of President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Russian government accuses the group of sponsoring terrorism over its vocal anti-war stance and support for the neighboring country.
Event organizer VPI said Tuesday that “all the necessary documents, contracts and permissions in accordance with legal requirements were obtained to carry out these activities. However, visas for performing artists were issued incorrectly: tourist visas were issued for band members, leading to violation of Thailand’s immigration law.”
It added that the Russian consulate had been pressuring the company to cancel the concerts since December.
Human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and the leader of the Belarusian opposition in exile, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, had asked the Thai authorities that the musicians not be deported to Russia because they could be persecuted for their political ideals.
In May 2023, the Russian Ministry of Justice designated Bortnik as a «foreign agent» for «opposing the ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine, (and) making negative statements about Russia, its citizens and authorities,» HRW said.
On Thursday, HRW Deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson said in a statement that “human rights concerns won out in Thailand’s decision to let all the Bi-2 band members travel to the safety of Israel.”
“Bangkok was right to refuse Moscow’s demands to send these activist artists back to face certain persecution and worse in Russia. But while this particular Russian trans-national repression gambit failed, but there is little doubt the Kremlin’s rights abusing autocrats will keep trying to silence exiled Russian critics by hook or by crook, wherever they can.”
Bi-2, formed in 1988 in the Belarusian city of Babruysk, is currently made up of six members, most of whom have dual Russian nationality with that of another country. EFE
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