Swiss Tourist Charged with Hate Speech for Insulting Nyepi in Bali

A Swiss national named Luzian Andrin Zgraggen has been designated as a suspect for allegedly insulting Nyepi Day in Bali. Bali Regional Police (Polda Bali) are prosecuting Luzian under Article 301 paragraph (1) of Law Number 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code. This article regulates the dissemination of content containing elements of insult through information technology means. Investigators from Polda Bali assess that the criminal elements in the case involving the Swiss national have been fulfilled.

Luzian is also charged with violating Article 300 letter b of the Criminal Code. The upload by the tattooed foreign man is deemed to contain hate speech or enmity towards groups or communities based on religion or beliefs in Indonesia.

Head of Public Relations of Polda Bali, Commissioner Ariasandy, explained that the suspect designation for Luzian was made after 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 upload on the Instagram account @luzzysun.

“From the cyber patrol results, an upload containing elements of insult towards Nyepi Day was found. Profiling was then conducted to identify the account owner,” said Ariasandy to detikBali on Sunday (22/3/2026).

In his upload, Luzian wrote a sentence with a crude tone regarding the implementation of Nyepi in Bali. Luzian’s upload went viral on social media.

The Swiss tourist initially complained about the rule prohibiting wandering outside during Nyepi in Bali. Luzian then stated that he would not heed the Nyepi rules. Consequently, the foreign tourist’s upload became 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.

After obtaining the identity of the account owner, the team from Subdit III Ditressiber Polda Bali immediately tracked Luzian’s whereabouts. Officers also 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. Police have seized several pieces of evidence, including one iPhone 16 mobile phone and the suspect’s social media account.