Exclusive: Members of the Bi-2 rock band were freed from custody in Bangkok on Wednesday and were making their way to Israel, among them Israelis and non-Israeli nationals.
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The seven members of the Russian band have been vocal critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin and after they were initially detained for failing to obtain a license for their Phuket concert, Russia officially requested that they be sent to Moscow, despite some members holding Israeli passport, one with American citizenship and one an Australian national.
According to Thai law, they were supposed to be deported according to the passport they used upon entry to Thailand and only one of the dual national Russian -Israelis, used his Israeli passport. but after intervention of the Foreign Ministry, authorities there rejected pressure from Moscow and allowed all of them to fly to Israel immediately after being released from detention.
In fact, the West rallied to save the band members, while the Thai authorities did not want to be seen as handing over the rock band for prosecution in Russia.
"I am glad that through smart and diligent diplomatic work we succeeded in freeing the Israeli citizens who were arrested in Thailand together with their bandmates who have foreign citizenships," said Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
Bi-2 was founded in 1988 in Belarus, when it was still part of the Soviet Union. The band has undergone several transformations since its inception. Its founders are Alexandr Uman (known as Shura) and Igor Bortnik (Luba), both Israelis. Bortnik immigrated to Israel in January 1991 at the age of 20 and worked as a security guard at a construction site. Uman arrived in the country the same year at the age of 19 and also worked in security. They continued to pursue their musical interests during their free time.
In Israel, Bi-2 began performing and won first place at the Jerusalem Rock Festival. However, at the end of 1993, Shura left Israel and settled in Australia. Meanwhile, Luba served in the IDF, and later pursued a career in computer graphics.
In 1998, Luba joined Shura in Australia. The following year, they moved to Russia and reestablished Bi-2. Throughout the years, they have made frequent visits to Israel to perform, garnering a substantial fan base in the country.