Transgender Harvard Graduate Dies While in Police Custody During His Honeymoon

Rodrigo Ventosilla, a 32-year-old Harvard Kennedy School graduate and prominent trans right activist from Peru, was on a honeymoon with his spouse, Sebastián Marallano, when the two of them were detained by customs police at an airport in Bali for possession of drugs, which The Harvard Crimson reported was marijuana.

Ventosilla was detained on August 7 by Bali Police. Ventosilla’s husband, Marallano, had arrived on a different flight and was also detained after he tried to assist his new partner with the arrest, according to the deceased's family. Two days after the couple were detained, they were sent to Bhayangkara Hospital. Ventosilla was then transferred to Sanglah Central Hospital, and after suffering alleged abuse and discrimination by Bali Police, he died on August 11.

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Ventosilla’s family has accused the Bali authorities of committing an “act of racial discrimination and transphobia,” and said the drugs which he was in possession of were for his mental health treatment and that he had a prescription for the drugs, which have been reported to be marijuana. His family adds that he was denied the right to an attorney, and that Bali police requested “exorbitant sums of money” in exchange for the two men.

“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.

The trans right activist’s family members also say the Peruvian consulate in Bali failed to respond to their messages on the matter.

Indonesian police have denied any wrongdoing, and claim that Ventosilla somehow consumed drugs which the police did not manage to confiscate and that this led to “organ failures throughout his body.” According to The Bali Sun, Indonesian police also misgendered Ventosilla and only referred to him by his initials.

Indonesia has some of the strictest drug laws in South East Asia, with possession of illegal drugs resulting in long prison sentences or even the death penalty.