An American tourist who was jailed for trespassing on an uncontacted tribe’s island has been freed on bail but ordered to remain in India.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, was released under strict conditions in court Friday, a month after he was arrested on March 31 for contacting the Sentinelese people on Sentinel Island.
The Sentinelese are among the last isolated tribes in the world, with roughly 200 people inhabiting the islands around 700 miles off the coast of India.
Polyakov was arrested on Andaman Island, a territory of India after he returned from offering the Sentinelese people a can of coke as a ‘peace offering’.
In court on Friday Polyakov was ordered to remain in Andaman Island’s capital Port Blair until his case is decided, with the 24-year-old facing up to five years in prison for his stunt.
His bail was also granted on the condition of providing two sureties, which must include a resident of Port Blair, and must meet with the officer overseeing his case twice a week.
Polyakov had his passport and visa seized following his arrest, and officials said in a statement he will ‘remain in Port Blair until further hearings’.
While Polyakov made it off the island alive, his trip came almost seven years after American missionary John Allen Chau, 27, was killed by the Sentinelese when he attempted to ‘convert’ them to Christianity.
When Polyakov was interrogated by police last month, cops said they found Go-Pro footage of him illegally landing at Sentinel Island.
He was believed to have been filming for his YouTube channel, with also featured footage of a visit to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan earlier this year.
‘That is it. The last uncontacted tribe. The last mystery. If they see me, will they attack? Or will they accept me?’ he said in the recording, according to The Telegraph.
Under interrogation, Polyakov reportedly told officers that he was a ‘thrill seeker’ who films his stunts for YouTube.
The Sentinelese are known for their hostility toward any intruders, with Indian authorities strictly preserving their way of life by barring any attempts to contact them.
Authorities say contacting the tribe also risks wiping them out as they have no immunity to common diseases from the outside world.
Indian investigators have prosecuted any locals who have aided attempts to enter the island and are trying to identify anyone who may have helped Polyakov.
Police say Polyakov’s journey to the prohibited territory was meticulously planned, alleging that the tourist had studied sea conditions, tides, and access points before he set sail.
Police say he first arrived at Port Blair on March 26 before venturing to Sentinel Island on March 28, using a grey Gemini inflatable boat to sail across a 25-mile straight from Kurma Dera Beach to the forbidden island.
He set sail for restricted territory around 1am, ‘carrying a coconut and a Diet Coke as offerings for the Sentinelese.’ He reached the northeastern shore of North Sentinel Island around 10am, according to a report from Andaman and Nicobar police.
‘He landed briefly for about five minutes, left the offerings on the shore, collected sand samples, and recorded a video before returning to his boat,’ the report said.
‘A review of his GoPro camera footage showed his entry and landing into the restricted North Sentinel Island.’
‘At 1pm he started his return journey and reached Kurma Dera Beach by 7pm, where he was spotted by local fisherman.’
Police say Polyakov had visited the region twice in October last year with plans to sail to North Sentinel Island using an ‘inflatable kayak’, but was stopped by staff at a hotel he was staying at.
He visited again in January this year, where he visited the Baratang Islands and ‘illegally videographed the Jarawa tribe’.
