A court on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali sentences a Swiss tourist, Luzian Andrin Zgraggen, to one year in prison for insulting a sacred Balinese Hindu observance known as Nyepi, the Day of Silence.
Multiple outlets report that he posts or shares social media content during the holiday, including messages and a video or expletive-laden comments about beaches being “crazy” or otherwise criticizing the ritual. They add that he is found guilty of violating Indonesia’s new criminal code, which prosecutors and courts apply to the conduct.
Reports broadly agree on the sentence length, the Bali court’s decision, and that the case centers on online posts made around the observance. Outlets vary in describing the exact wording and format of his posts—for example, references to an expletive-laden social media message versus a specific Instagram story video—while they all describe the conduct as disrespectful to the religious holiday. Some coverage also notes the defendant tells the court he did not intend to insult the Balinese people or the holiday.
