Swiss tourist sentenced to year in jail for insulting Bali's sacred Day of Silence

A court on the Indonesian resort island of Bali sentenced a Swiss tourist to one year in prison on Thursday for insulting a sacred Balinese Hindu observance.

Luzian Andrin Zgraggen, 26, was found guilty of violating Indonesia’s new criminal code by posting social media messages about the Day of Silence, when people are required to stay home and are urged to remain silent and meditate.

The Denpasar District Court determined that he posted the messages even after staff at the villa where he was staying informed him of the restrictions.

“What the defendant did offended the Balinese people, hurt their faith and provoked public outrage,” said presiding judge Tjokorda Putra Budi Pastima. “The defendant must be held accountable for his actions.”

The Day of Silence, locally known as Nyepi, usually falls in March. For a day, the island's world-famous beaches and streets are empty of people except for special patrols meant to ensure silence is observed.

The airport in Bali, a predominantly Hindu island in Muslim-majority Indonesia, shuts down and the internet is switched off. The restrictions apply to everyone regardless of religion or nationality.

Zgraggen boasted in Instagram posts that he had defied restrictions that prohibit residents and visitors from leaving their homes or accommodations except for emergencies.

In video clips shared online, Zgraggen smiled at the camera and described walking to a beach during the observance. In one, he called the tradition “crazy” and used an expletive.

The posts were widely reposted on social media, triggering condemnation from Balinese residents who considered them disrespectful. Authorities tracked him down following public complaints and he was arrested at a villa in Legian, a popular tourist spot near Kuta Beach.

During his trial, which began in June, Zgraggen told the court he had never intended to insult the Hindu holiday or the Balinese people.

He said he made the posts while hungry and frustrated that he could not obtain food during the shutdown. He said he had not fully understood the extent of the restrictions.

“I deeply regret what I did, I apologise to the Balinese people,” Zgraggen said in his defence plea.

While authorities have previously detained foreign and domestic tourists for venturing outside during Nyepi, those cases were generally resolved without prosecution.