You might have heard that Indonesian government officials have threatened to deport Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio from the country for criticizing the palm oil industry and the government . Although DiCaprio is apparently already out the country, the government is very serious about deporting foreigners for criticizing or disrespecting Indonesia, as one Russian tourist learned this week.
Mikhail Ruschernikov was kicked out of Indonesia last night. He was forced to take a flight back to his homeland from Medan’s Kualanamu Airport after being reported to immigration for an act that “disturbed public order and security”.
Ruschernikov had apparently traveled to North Sumatra along with his mother and went on a jungle trekking trip with a tour guide. But police say some sort of dispute occurred between the tourists and their guide, with Ruschernikov claiming the guide abandoned them in the jungles of Bahorok in North Sumatra’s Langkat Regency.
“So he reported it to the office of the Indonesian Guides Association (HPI) in Bukit Lawang, Langkat on Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Seeing that the service was not efficient, he became very emotional there,” said Herawan Sukoaji, the head of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Medan Immigration Office on Thursday as quoted by Vivanews.
According to witnesses interviewed by the police, Ruschernikov then tore down an Indonesian flag and tried to set it on fire. But a military officer stopped him and turned him over to the police.
Police questioned the Russian as well as witnesses, including HPI tour guides and locals. Eventually he was turned over to immigration who immediately decided to deport him for disturbing public order and security, in line with 2011 Law on Immigration.
Ruschernikov might have been relatively lucky to have just gotten deported. Police decided that he had not done any actual damage to the flag – if he had, he could have been facing prison time, as it’s a serious crime to insult or damage state symbols.
