A Russian tourist who begged forgiveness after offending furious locals by posing naked on a 700-year-old sacred tree in Bali will be deported, immigration officials said.
Alina Fazleeva, who has thousands of followers on Instagram, did naked yoga poses on a centuries-old weeping paperbark tree inside Babakan temple grounds in Tabanan regency in 2019.
The picture, which was taken by her husband Andrey Fazleev, was uploaded to Instagram and went viral, irking Balinese communities.
Police declined to charge her with a crime but turned her case over to immigration officers who took a dim view of someone Buddhist-Hindu devotees have branded a ‘trashy tourist’.
Fazleeva boasted on social media about her nude photoshoot, saying she ‘heard her ancestors’ voices’ while she was hugging the bark and being ‘part of an endless chain’.
The self-proclaimed yogi’s post was recently discovered by a furious local and reported to the police.
Alina Fazleeva enraged Hindu-Buddhist locals by doing naked yoga poses on a centuries-old weeping paperbark tree inside Babakan temple grounds in Tabanan regency of Bali in 2019
The naked photo that so enraged Balian locals and got Russian yoga practitioner Alina Fazleeva in hot water with Indonesian police
Locals believe mountains, trees and other natural features to be holy in Balinese Hindu culture, as they are thought to be the homes of the gods.
As police investigated the incident, Fazleeva went to the station ‘to cooperate’ – after first returning to the tree to ‘ask its forgiveness’.
‘Both of them are proven to have carried out activities that endanger public order and do not respect the local norms,’ Bali immigration chief Jamaruli Manihuruk told reporters Friday.
‘So, they will be sanctioned with deportation.’
The husband and wife will be banned from Indonesia for at least six months, and also had to participate in a cleansing ceremony at the sacred area in accordance with local belief, he added.
But some locals wondered whether she violated draconian Indonesian pornography laws, which warrant up to 15 years imprisonment and a 2 billion rupiah fine (£110,528).
Fazleeva apologised on her Instagram account in English and Bahasa Indonesia, acknowledging that she ‘made a big mistake’.
‘There are a lot of sacred places in Bali and not all of them have information signs about it, as in my case,’ she said.
‘And, it is very important to treat these places and traditions with respect’.
Tabanan Police Chief Ranefli Dian Sandra said Fazleeva came to the station on May 4 where they questioned her and turned the case over to immigration officers.
Police Chief Ranefli added that the pictures were apparently old and around 2019 before the pandemic.
He said: ‘We have also sent a team to investigate. The pictures and videos appeared to have been captured around 2019 before the pandemic.
The area had been trimmed off now of bushes. Before, there were tall grasses in the area and was difficult to reach.’
Before turning herself to the police, Fazleeva reportedly went back to the same tree, now dressed in a white shirt and long blue pants, with a man ‘to ask for forgiveness’.
She said: ‘I apologise to all Balinese and Indonesian people, I regret my actions.
‘I’m so embarrassed, I didn’t mean to offend you in any way, I had absolutely no knowledge of this place.
‘I just prayed under a tree and went straight to the police station to explain this incident and apologise.’
Fazleeva also reportedly contacted the local, Niluh Djelantik, who complained about her to the police to apologise.
Niluh thanked Alina and accepted the apology, but noted that the investigations into the incident should continue.
Kurnya Wijaya, a temple caretaker, said a cleansing ceremony would ‘clear the tree of the obscenities’ and urged the woman to shoulder the expenses.
Before turning herself to the police, Alina, pictured with her husband, reportedly went back to the same tree, now dressed in a white shirt and long blue pants, with a man ‘to ask for forgiveness’
‘The ceremony would be a form of apology to the temple and clear the tree of the obscenities.
‘I hope the woman would shoulder the expenses and take responsibility. This was not the first time that our temples and sacred grounds were disrespected by tourists.’
The temple caretaker added that they would re-evaluate the temple rules and implement stricter regulations, especially for tourists.
He said: ‘This is a holy place, being looked after only by three people. If tourists could not behave themselves while inside, we will be forced to make strict rules for them.’
The investigations are ongoing and would be handled by the immigration officers and the Bali Police directorate.
Bali’s Governor Wayan Koster said his administration would no longer tolerate disrespectful tourists.
Almost 200 people were deported from the holiday island last year, some of them for violating Covid-19 protocols.
Last month, a Canadian actor and self-proclaimed wellness guru was also facing deportation from Bali after a video went viral of him naked at holy Mount Batur while doing the Haka, New Zealand’s Maori ceremonial dance.