Skip to content

Everyday is Holliday

  • Home
  • Airfare
    • Airline Tickets
    • Cheap Airline Tickets
    • Cheap Flights
    • Cheap Tickets
    • International Flights
  • Beach
    • Beach Vacations
    • Adventure Travel
    • Caribbean Vacations
    • Cheap Cruises
  • Destination
    • Cruise Ship
    • Cruise Deals
    • Family Vacation
    • European Destinations
  • Dream Vacations
    • Holiday Packages
    • Holliday
    • Honeymoon
    • Resort
    • Vacation Packages
  • Travel Advisor
    • Travel Around The World
    • Travel Blog
    • Travel Sites
    • Vacation
  • Contact Us

Transgender Harvard student dies in police custody while on honeymoon in Indonesia

August 27, 2022 by Eliza

A transgender advocate and Harvard graduate student died in police custody this month while on his honeymoon in the Indonesian tourist island of Bali.

Rodrigo Ventosilla, a 32-year-old transmasculine person from Peru, and his husband, Sebastián Marallano, were detained Aug. 7 by customs police at the Bali airport for illegal possession of marijuana, Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Two days after the arrest, Ventosilla was taken to the hospital, where he died on Aug. 11 due to “failure of bodily functions,” according to police spokesperson Stefanus Satake Bayu Setianto, who added that Ventosilla became sick after taking medication that had not been confiscated by authorities.

The families of Ventosilla and Marallano, who has since returned to Peru, have accused authorities in Bali of “police violence … racial discrimination and transphobia,” according to their statement on Instagram. They are also alleging that Ventosilla was not provided access to lawyers, his family or his partner while in police custody.

“It should be noted that at all times the Indonesian police blocked access to both the lawyers hired by the family, and Harvard students who attended their aid. The family was NEVER able to communicate or know Rodrigo’s health/diagnosis,” the family wrote in a statement.

However, in a statement Wednesday, Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said they have not found evidence of “racial discrimination and transphobia.” Ventosilla’s family is calling for a more thorough investigation.

Kyle Knight, a senior researcher on health and LGBTQ rights at Human Rights Watch, an international nongovernmental organization, said it is disturbing that authorities prevented “lawyers and activists and his partner from trying to get access to him. That’s indicative of something very suspicious.”

Knight added: “It’s pretty clear from the reports that we read, things went as badly as they could have.”

Ventosilla’s death follows a growing effort to roll back LGBTQ rights in Indonesia, Knight added.

“Since 2016, there has been a government-driven effort to slander, stigmatize and render insecure LGBT people across the country,” he said, citing Human Rights Watch reports from 2018 and 2016.

Bali is a known safe haven for queer and trans Indonesians, he said. However, he added, that changed last year when LGBTQ travelers began promoting the island as a queer-friendly tourist destination and provided advice on how to avoid Covid-19 restrictions.

It comes at no surprise, he said, that authorities escalated the arrest in this location.

“Rodrigo’s case falls into a couple of different overlapping patterns, including Indonesia’s drug laws are very, very strict and very intense,” he said, adding that “the police love nabbing foreigners, particularly in tourist hotspots like Bali.”

Prior to his death, Ventosilla was pursuing a master’s degree in public administration at Harvard’s Kennedy School. in a Wednesday’s statement, the school said Ventosilla’s family had raised “very serious questions that deserve clear and accurate answers.” The trans advocacy organization that Ventosilla was founded, Diversidades Trans Masculinas, is also calling for justice.

“We call on all human rights organizations, feminists, transfeminists, unions, grassroots organizations and citizens in general to fight for the justice that Rodrigo deserves,” the organization wrote in a statement on Facebook. “His death should not go unpunished. When a trans person dies, they never die!”

Follow NBC Out on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.

Tat Bellamy-Walker

Tat Bellamy-Walker is the desk assistant for NBC News’ diversity verticals.

Reuters contributed.

Post navigation

Previous Post:

Ben Affleck Was Reportedly Upset Over the Paparazzi Attention on His Honeymoon with Jennifer Lopez

Next Post:

Tacoma couple’s honeymoon in Seattle marred when car is broken into, set on fire

Recent Posts

  • Budget Airlines In Southeast Asia
  • The history of Richmond Castle Kalutara
  • Discovering the Beautiful Locations in Sri Lanka
  • The serene southern coast of Sri Lanka
  • Family-Friendly Places to Take Beautiful Photos on your Saigon Holiday- Make Unforgettable Memories

Archives

  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016

Categories

  • Adventure Travel
  • Airfare
  • Airline Tickets
  • Beach
  • Beach Vacations
  • Caribbean Vacations
  • Cheap Airline Tickets
  • Cheap Cruises
  • Cheap Flights
  • Cheap Tickets
  • Cruise Deals
  • Cruise Ship
  • Destination
  • Dream Vacations
  • European Destinations
  • Family Vacation
  • Flights
  • General Article
  • General Articles
  • Holiday Packages
  • Holliday
  • Honeymoon
  • Hotel Reservation
  • Hotels
  • International Flights
  • One Way Flights
  • Resort
  • Round Trip
  • Travel Advisor
  • Travel Around The World
  • Travel Blog
  • Travel Sites
  • Trip
  • Vacation
  • Vacation Packages

About Us

  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Disclosure Policy
  • Sitemap
© 2023 Everyday is Holliday | Built using WordPress and SuperbThemes