Russians tourists dominate Bali’s deportation list in 2020: officials

The Bali office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights has released new data related to deportation from Indonesia through the island, with Russian nationals dominating the list in the first half of 2020.

“The total number [of deportations] is 59 people from 26 different countries,” I Putu Surya Dharma, who heads the office’s PR and reformation unit, said yesterday.

Ten Russian tourists made up the bulk of the list, followed by seven Australians, five Bulgarians, four Chinese nationals, and three Filipinos, among others. Thus far, March had the highest number of deportations by month with 19 people instructed to leave the country.

The majority of violations that warranted the deportations came in the form of disrupting public order, overstaying, and misuse of stay permits, which included providing false information for visa acquisition.

“In the cases of Russians who were loitering and inviting people [to gather] for a mass yoga session, their deportation process was fast,” Surya said, adding that deportations occurred every month.

For the latter case, Surya was alluding to Russian yoga instructors Rodion Antonkin and Albina Mukhamadullina, both 40, who were recently deported to their home country for holding a mass yoga session sans COVID-19 health protocols at a villa in Ubud in the middle of July.

Prior to their deportation, they were arrested at the Immigration Detention Center in Denpasar. Both of them were charged with endangering public security under Indonesia’s Immigration Law, and were added to immigration’s travel blacklist as a result.

In mid-July, a Russian tourist was detained for taking shelter around the premises of Ngurah Rai International Airport, saying that he was stranded on the island for the past month. He was scheduled for deportation after authorities in Bali coordinated with the Russian Consulate. 

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