A Russian tourist, Alina Fazleeva, was in tears, pleading for forgiveness after offending many locals for posing naked next to a sacred tree in Bali, Indonesia. In 2019 the Instagram model posed naked on a 700-year-old paperbark tree while her husband snapped a photo inside Babakan temple grounds in Tabanan regency.
The influencer did not get a criminal charge, but the immigration services did not take kindly to a tourist insensitively using a Buddhist-Hindu temple as their photo studio. She even posted a caption on her photos saying she "could hear her ancestor's voices while she was hugging the bark and being part of an endless chain."
The local Balinese people believe every aspect of nature to be holy in Hindu culture, as it is believed to be the home of the gods.
Jamaruli Manihuruk, Bali immigration chief, said in a report, "Both of them are proven to have carried out activities that endanger public order and do not respect the local norms. So, they will be sanctioned with deportation."
Fazleeva and her husband have received a six-month ban from Indonesia and had to participate in a cleansing ceremony at the sacred area. However, some believe she violated draconian Indonesian Pornography law which could land her a 15-year jail sentence as well as a 2 billion rupiah fine.
Fazleeva has since acknowledged that she offended the people and traditions of the Indonesian people stating, "There are a lot of sacred places in Bali and not all of them have information signs about it, as in my case. And, it is very important to treat these places and traditions with respect."
Maybe as a rule of thumb, don't take your clothes off in public to appease your Instagram followers.
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