Swiss National Named as Suspect After Insulting Nyepi in Bali
Luzian Andrin Zgraggen has been named as a suspect in a case of alleged criminal defamation against religion and beliefs. The Swiss national is suspected of insulting Nyepi Day through a social media post.
Head of Public Relations for Bali Regional Police, Commissioner Ariasandy, revealed that the suspect designation followed a series of investigations culminating in a case review on Saturday (21/3). The handling of this case began with a cyber patrol that discovered the post on the Instagram account @luzzysun.
“From the cyber patrol results, a post containing elements of insult towards Nyepi Day was found. Profiling was then conducted to identify the account owner,” Ariasandy stated, as quoted by detikBali on Sunday (22/3/2026).
In the post, Luzian wrote a sentence with a coarse tone regarding the observance of Nyepi in Bali. The Swiss tourist initially mentioned the rule prohibiting wandering outside during Nyepi in Bali.
Luzian then stated that he would not heed the Nyepi rules. The foreign tourist’s post quickly went viral, triggering strong reactions from netizens.
“A day of silence where you’re not allowed to go outside in Bali is pretty peaceful outside :), fuck Nyepi day and fuck your rules too.” This was Luzian’s Instagram post.
Ariasandy explained that Subdirectorate III of the Bali Regional Police’s Cyber Crime Directorate immediately tracked the location of the Instagram account owner after his identity was revealed. Officers even tailed Luzian’s movements from the Kuta area to Ubud.
“The team conducted tracing and tailing until the individual was secured for further processing,” he added.
Ariasandy stated that Luzian was secured at the residence of a DPD RI member from Bali, Ni Luh Djelantik, located in Mengwi, Badung, before being brought to Bali Regional Police headquarters. Ni Luh Djelantik then filed a report to continue the legal process a day later, on Saturday (21/3).
After receiving the report, investigators conducted a case review and elevated the case status to investigation. “After the case review, investigators designated the individual as a suspect and carried out the arrest and detention,” Ariasandy added.