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Human Rights Watch has advised that members of the exiled Russian-Belarusian rock band Bi-2 face persecution for their public criticism of the Russian government if Thailand deports them to Russia. Bi-2’s seven members include Russian citizens as well as dual nationals of Russia and other countries, including Israel and Australia.
Bi-2 is a Belarusian alternative rock band, formed in 1988 in Bobruisk, Belarus. It was one of the most successful with many sales and chart-hits in Russia. Bi-2 was awarded MTV Russian Music Awards for Best Rock Act in 2007.
Members of the self-exiled Russian rock group known for opposing Moscow’s war in Ukraine face possible deportation home after being arrested in Thailand for breaking immigration rules. Thai police arrested the seven band members for allegedly performing a concert without the proper work authorisations and later moved them to an immigration detention centre pending deportation.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Saturday accused them of sponsoring terrorism by publicly supporting Ukraine, raising concerns they may face criminal charges in Russia. The Russian consul in Phuket said that they will be sent to Bangkok for deportation based on their citizenship.
Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch shared “the Thai authorities should immediately release the detained members of Bi-2 and allow them to go on their way.
“Under no circumstances should they be deported to Russia, where they could face arrest or worse for their outspoken criticisms of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s war in Ukraine.”
Bi-2 posted a Facebook statement on 28th January 2024, that Thai police had detained the group on 24th January, shortly after they performed a concert in Phuket, in southern Thailand. The police alleged that the men did not have the correct legal permits to perform at a show in Thailand and seized their passports.
On 25th January, after spending the night in a detention centre in Phuket, the band members were put on trial. The court ordered them to pay a fine, which the group said they paid on the same day. The band stated in its Facebook post that during their members’ interactions with police and at the court, they were not provided with an interpreter, and they did not understand the Thai-language court documents related to their case.
The group members were then transferred from Phuket to an immigration detention centre in Bangkok, where they are awaiting deportation to their respective countries of origin.
The Russian government views the group as a threat to national security. Following their detention in Thailand, Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said that the group had allegedly “sponsored terrorism” by condemning Russia and publicly supporting Ukraine.
Human Rights Watch reports that in July 2022, a member of the Russian parliament accused the band members of “discrediting [the Russian] military” and called on the head of the Federal Security Service to open a criminal investigation into their “anti-Russian stance” and “discreditation” attempts. In May 2023, Russia’s Justice Ministry designated the frontman of the band, Egor Bortnik (whose stage name is Leva), a “foreign agent” for “opposing the ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine, (and) making negative statements about Russia, its citizens and authorities.”
Bi-2 said in their statement that “outside [Russian] pressure played a significant role in our detention. We know that the reason for this pressure is [retaliation] for our creativity, our views, our position.”
Self-exiled Russian opposition politician and a friend of Bi-2, Dmitry Gudkov, told the Russian-language service of Australia’s SBS radio that he believed Moscow was putting pressure on Thailand to have the band deported to Russia.
It is not known if the Russian authorities have sought the band members’ forcible return to Russia. However, amid repression in Russia reaching new heights, Russian authorities have used transnational repression—abuses committed against nationals beyond a government’s jurisdiction—to target activists and government critics abroad with violence and other unlawful actions.
Human Rights Watch notes that Thailand - as a party to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment - has an international legal obligation not to forcibly return anyone who would face the threat of torture if returned. In February 2023, Thailand’s Act on Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearances codified this obligation in domestic law. The law stipulates that the authorities shall not “expel, return, or extradite a person to another State, if there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be in danger of being subjected to torture, to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, or to enforced disappearance.”
Human Rights Watch states the Thai government should not deport any of the band members to Russia. If forcibly returned, they would most likely face arbitrary arrest and detention, possible mistreatment in custody, politically motivated criminal charges, and unfair trials.
Pearson adds “There’s grave concern that the Russian authorities seek to punish these artists for speaking out against the Kremlin and criticizing Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“The Thai government should not permit the deportation of these activists to a place where they are likely to face persecution.”
Human Rights Watch investigates and reports on abuses happening across the world. They are comprised of roughly 550 plus people of 70-plus nationalities who are country experts, lawyers, journalists, and others who work to protect the most at risk, from vulnerable minorities and civilians in wartime, to refugees and children in need.
Image:Rock band Bi-2 performing in Estoril, Portugal in July 2023. Credit: 2023 Horacio Villalobos/Corbis via Getty Images
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