After assurances were given that the four Israeli members of the Russian-Israeli band Bi-2 would be deported to Israel instead of Russia, a decision was made in Thailand to conduct a further investigation into the matter. Currently, three of them will remain in custody and will not be flying to Israel. It is understood that recent Russian involvement has played a role in hindering the deportation process.
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The head of the Immigration Police provided an update Tuesday, stating that only Igor Bortnik, the band leaders who entered Thailand with his Israeli passport, will be permitted to leave for Israel on Tuesday. The remaining band members will remain in custody until there is further discussion on the issue, which will be led by the deputy head of the Thai Immigration Police. Israel's ambassador to Thailand, Orna Sagiv, engaged in a conversation with the deputy head and requested that the remaining three band members be allowed to depart for Israel as early as Wednesday.
As reported earlier this week, seven members of the Russian band, known for their opposition to the Putin regime, were initially arrested in Phuket for performing without a permit. They were subsequently released, but following a request from Russia, they were arrested again and taken into custody in Bangkok. While all band members hold Russian citizenship, four of them also hold Israeli citizenship, one is Australian, and another is American.
According to the procedure, they are expected to be deported to the country on whose passport they entered Thailand, which has led to Russian pressure for their deportation to Russia. On the other hand, the band members have requested to be deported to Israel, which exerted pressure on Thailand, arguing that deportation to Russia should be prevented due to concerns for the band members' security.
In his conversation with Shagiv, the National Security Council deputy stated that he needs to thoroughly examine all the documents that indicate the Israeli citizenship of the four individuals. He added that "they will not be sent to a location that is unsafe," and at this stage, they will remain in the detention center in Thailand. Additionally, he said that usually a decision on such a matter takes about a week, but due to an understanding of the urgency, he promised to decide by Wednesday afternoon.
In response to the situation, Shagiv reached out to the U.S. ambassador in Bangkok, who expressed his commitment to assist in any way possible. Furthermore, the ambassador contacted the Australian commissioner in Bangkok and requested the expedited deportation of another band member, Alexandr Uman, to Australia. The commissioner responded affirmatively, acknowledging that since Uman would not be going to Israel as initially expected, they would make efforts to facilitate his deportation to Australia.