All members of anti-war Russian-Belarusian rock band Bi-2 who were arrested in Thailand deported to Israel

Source: Meduza

All the members of anti-war Russian-Belarusian band Bi-2 who were detained in a Bangkok immigration detention center have been deported to Israel, the group’s lawyer told Meduza.

Six members of the band were on board the flight to Israel, including one who holds Australian citizenship.

According to the lawyer, the Israeli and Australian consuls met with Thailand’s Foreign Ministry in Bangkok on January 31. Thai diplomats were also supposed to meet with the Russian consul, though separately from their Israeli and Australian counterparts, says the lawyer.

The meeting between the Israeli, Australian, and Thai diplomats lasted for several hours and the group’s representatives weren’t in attendance. “It was eventually announced that the musicians could leave Thailand and fly to Tel Aviv, which was what they all preferred,” said the musicians’ lawyer.

On January 30, one of the group’s members who holds Israeli citizenship was flown to Israel. The band’s lawyer said that Russia requested that the three musicians who hold only Russian citizenship be deported back to Russia.