Bali court sentences Swiss tourist to one year in prison over Nyepi video

Court ruling in Denpasar

The Denpasar District Court on the Indonesian island of Bali sentenced Swiss national Luzian Andrin Zgraggen, 26, to one year in prison on Thursday, 20 August 2026. Court spokesperson I Wayan Suarta confirmed that judges found Zgraggen guilty of violating Indonesian legislation governing online hate speech. The offense carried a statutory maximum sentence of five years of imprisonment, but the judicial panel chose a one-year term after taking into account the defendant's youth and cooperative conduct throughout the legal proceedings. Presiding judge Tjokorda Putra Budi Pastima noted in his verdict that the defendant's online statements required formal accountability after offending the island's population.

What the defendant did offended the Balinese people, hurt their faith and provoked public outrage.

Social media posts during Nyepi

The conviction follows an incident during the observance of Nyepi, the Balinese New Year and Hindu Day of Silence, on 20 March 2026. Nyepi is preceded by evening street parades featuring large demon sculptures known as Ogoh-Ogoh, after which the entire island enters a 24-hour period of total stillness. During the holiday, all vehicular traffic, maritime transport, and commercial operations cease, internet services face curbs, lights must stay switched off, and I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport closes to all flights. Residents and tourists must remain inside their homes or hotels, while specialized local community patrols monitor empty streets and beaches. Hotel staff had informed Zgraggen of these mandatory rules when he arrived on the island in February 2026.

Defense claims and official reaction

Despite those briefings, Zgraggen left his villa accommodation on 20 March, walked onto an empty beach, and recorded video clips for his Instagram story. In the videos, he smiled at the camera, complained about total darkness and closed restaurants, used profanities against the rules, and labeled the holiday crazy. The recordings quickly circulated across social media, attracting thousands of angry responses and formal complaints to the authorities. Indonesian police subsequently located and arrested Zgraggen at a villa in Legian, a tourist district near Kuta Beach. During his trial in June 2026, Zgraggen stated that he made the posts while hungry and frustrated at being unable to purchase food, adding that he had not understood the full scale of the restrictions.

I deeply regret what I did. I apologize to the Balinese people.

Enforcement on foreign visitors

The Denpasar court confirmed that the five months Zgraggen spent in pre-trial detention since his March arrest will be subtracted from his one-year term. In Bern, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs announced that the Swiss Embassy in Jakarta is extending consular protection to Zgraggen and informing him of legal mechanisms, including the possibility of requesting a transfer to Switzerland. The Swiss ministry also reiterated official travel advisories urging tourists to respect local laws, religious customs, and cultural practices in Indonesia. The verdict follows several enforcement actions against foreign nationals on Bali, including the March 2026 arrest of two French citizens and one Italian national for producing pornography, as well as the deportation of two Dutch citizens who operated a running group that barred Indonesian participants.