Swiss tourist sentenced to a year in jail for insulting Bali’s sacred Day of Silence

A Swiss tourist was sentenced to a year in prison by a court on the Indonesian island of Bali on Thursday, for posting insults about a sacred Hindu observance called the Day of Silence. Luzian Andrin Zgraggen, 26, was found guilty of violating Indonesia's new criminal code by sharing messages on social media about the event. The Denpasar District Court ruled that his posts offended the Balinese people, hurt their faith, and provoked public outrage.

The Day of Silence, or Nyepi, usually takes place in March and requires people to stay home and observe silence, with the airport shut down and the internet switched off. Zgraggen had boasted about defying the restrictions on Instagram and even filmed himself walking to a beach during the observance, calling the tradition "crazy."