Bali Jails Swiss Tourist for a Year Over Day of Silence Video

Nyepi, which fell on 19 March this year, brings Indonesia's busiest tourist island to a halt. Residents stay home and refrain from loud noise, the airport shuts, internet access is cut and even using electricity is discouraged. The rules apply to everyone regardless of religion — tourists included. Zgraggen broke the ban on going out, in an Instagram post captioned with expletives, local media reported.

Why Bali is losing patience with badly behaved tourists

The island welcomed a record seven million international visitors last year as numbers recovered past its pandemic lull, and misbehaviour came with them. Tourists have previously been detained or deported for breaching Nyepi restrictions, and foreigners penalised for offensive acts at religious sites and traffic offences. British holidaymakers are used to Foreign Office holiday warnings, but local custom can bite harder than any advisory — even in destinations chasing record visitor numbers.

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

The presiding judge, as reported by the Associated Press

Zgraggen told the court he had not understood the extent of the restrictions and had not meant to insult the Balinese. "I deeply regret what I did, I apologise to the Balinese people," he said.

The verdict, reported by BBC News, comes as Balinese authorities vow to tighten scrutiny of the island's tourists and crack down on unruly foreigners.