The Bi-2 musicians made contact for the first time after their arrest in Thailand

Members of the group “Bi 2” reported that they were in the detention center of the migration police of the island of Phuket in Thailand. They will soon be sent to Bangkok to resolve the issue of deportation. On January 24, the musicians were detained for violating the rules of the concert.

“We are in touch with  the Israeli Foreign Ministry , its representatives in Thailand are participating in resolving the situation. At the same time, the Australian consul who came to our place of detention was not allowed to see us,” the group said in a message on the social network X.

The band's musicians commented for the first time on their detention. After a concert in Phuket on January 24, police said that the organizers of the event incorrectly completed the necessary documents. At the same time, the musicians claim that all the band’s concerts in Thailand “are conducted in accordance with local laws and practices.” TASS, citing the Phuket tourist police , reported that the reason for the detention was the lack of a work permit.

“We spent the first night in a cell at the police station. All members of the group, including citizens of Russia, Israel and Australia, were detained. The soloists and founders of the group, Leva and Shura, are not citizens of the Russian Federation. The next day, a trial was held: a fine was decided, which was paid on the spot,” the group said in a statement.

They were unable to familiarize themselves with the case materials because they were not provided with an interpreter.

Following this, according to the musicians, they were sent to a migration center, but no additional charges were brought against them. “The situation and the noise around it suggest that outside pressure played a significant role in our detention. We know that the reasons for this pressure are our creativity, our views, our position,” the musicians said. There is currently no contact with the group members, the message notes.

The Bi-2 group consists of six people: Egor Bortnik (Leva Bi-2, declared a foreign agent), Alexander Uman (Shura Bi-2), Andrey Zvonkov, Maxim Andryushchenko, Yan Nikolenko and Boris Lifshits. After the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, the soloists of “Bi-2” left Russia and canceled all their concerts in the country. In Thailand they held two concerts: on January 22 in Pattaya, and on January 24 in Phuket.