The members of the rock band Bi-2, with lyrics critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine, were deported to Israel, after being detained last week in the Asian country and risking being sent to Russia.
"All the Bi-2 musicians have left Thailand safely and are heading to (the Israeli city of) Tel Aviv," the group itself noted in a brief message on its official Facebook profile published early this Thursday.
Bi-2, self-exiled for his opposition to Moscow as a result of the war in Ukraine, is advancing his publication that will provide more details about what happened in the coming days.
Seven people linked to the gang, including the current six members of the group, were arrested by Thai Police on Wednesday last week on the tourist island of Phuket, in the east of the country, for allegedly acting without the necessary permits and entering the country. with an incorrect visa.
According to Bi-2, who recently played in the Thai city of Pattaya, the error in the documents comes from the organizers of the event and they point out that in 2023 they already performed twice in Thailand without any problems.
For its part, the event organizing company VPI admitted this Tuesday its error in "incorrectly issuing tourist visas for the band members, which caused a violation of Thailand's immigration law" and assured that since December it had received "pressure of the Russian consulate" in Thailand to cancel the concerts.
On Wednesday, Bi-2's vocalist and leader, Igor Bortnik - also known as Lyova Bi-2 or Leva - was deported to Israel, while the rest of those arrested left for the same destination last night.
Organizations that guarantee human rights, 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 by Her 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 recalls.
Bi-2, formed in 1988 in the Belarusian city of Babruysk and with significant success in Russia, is currently made up of six members, most of whom share Russian nationality with that of another country. EFE
Are they Russian or Israeli? Aren't they old enough to go fight in Gaza? Or in the Ukrainian ranks since they are against Putin, I say.
THEM ACTING GRATAROLA FOR IDF FIGHTERS IS THE BEST WAY TO ANNOY PUTIN