Deportation fears for Russian band held in Thailand

BANGKOK: Members of a dissident Russian-Belarusian rock band were being held in a Thai prison on Wednesday (Jan 31) after being detained while playing on a famed holiday island, as calls mounted for them not to be deported to Russia. Thai officials detained members of the Bi-2 band, whose members have criticised President Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine, last week after they played a gig on the holiday island of Phuket. Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said they would face “persecution” if returned to Russia, pointing to comments by a Kremlin foreign ministry spokeswoman accusing the band of “sponsoring terrorism”. A post on the band’s official Telegram channel on Wednesday said singer Egor Bortnik, known by his stage…