5 foreign nationals have been detained and deported by Indonesian immigration authorities in Bali.

The five – 2 from the U.S.A., 2 from Australia and a Frenchman were determined to be illegally using a tourist visa to proselytize their religious beliefs on the Island.

Deported were Mishael Alexander Martinez and Derrick Gary Leonard (USA); James Rua Ropiha and Brayden James Bevan (Australia); and Steven Gerrard Felix Otal (France).

The group were determined to be in violation of immigration law that permits no work, paid or unpaid, to be conducted in Indonesia without permits issued in advance by the Ministry of Manpower and violating national laws that forbid religious conversion.

 

 

Local citizens in the North Meteo Complex near Bali’s complained to police that the group of men were going door to door in their neighborhood, insisting residents accept their brochures. According to immigration authorities, the foreigners were urging residents to attend a Jehovah Witness Worship Service planned for Friday in the Jimbaran area of Bali.

Immigration authorities stopped the men during their door-to-door crusade on Wednesday, March 1, 2015 and asked them for their documents.

While the Jehovah Witness is a recognized religious sect in Indonesia, it is expressly forbidden for any religion to actively promote their religious doctrine to differing sects or religions.

According to Beritabali.com the five men were summarily deported and their names placed on a blacklist forbidding their return to Indonesia for a specific period.

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