A Russian woman will be deported from Bali over a revealing photo she posted that shows her leaning against a sacred tree.
Indonesian police have confirmed that Luiza Kosykh, was arrested in her Bali villa on Wednesday, over the photo that was taken on April 11th, 2021. The image shows Kosykh unclothed with her back to the camera, leaning on a 700-year-old Kayu Putih tree, which is a sacred tree, located in Babakan Temple in Bayan Village. The image was shared online and recently resurfaced.
The woman reportedly claimed that she didn’t know the tree was sacred.
“She uploaded [the picture] on Instagram on the same date. We don’t know who highlighted it in 2023,” Barron Ichsan, the head of the Immigration Division of the Bali Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights said in a press.
“She said that she took the picture with her friend because [she wanted to] be at one with nature,” added Barron.
“She said that in the picture she was wearing panties and that her friend, later edited [the photo] to make it [seem like she was] more immersed in nature,” he said.
“If we look at her picture, this is not nude photography that is arousing. Could be different for dirty-minded people. I look at the photo, I see it as art, and not erotic. But yes, [it was taken] at the wrong place. That is a sacred place.”
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Barron said the Russian tourist will be deported immediately.
Bali officials have recently been cracking down on disrespectful tourists. Just last month, a number of billboards were erected on the holiday island to teach foreigners how to dress respectfully.
“The point is that tourists respect Balinese cultural customs by dressing well and neatly, following in an orderly manner, carrying out traffic activities and not doing things that are outside the provisions,” Bali tourism board chairman Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana told the media.
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