BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

Mankini-wearing 'Borat' tourists arrested in Kazakhstan

  • Published
    14 November 2017
Share page
About sharing
Czech men in Borat mankinis in KazakhstanImage source, informburo.kz
Image caption,

The Czech men were detained on Friday for 'minor hooliganism'

Paul Harrison
BBC UGC and Social News

Six Czech tourists who dressed up as Borat have been arrested in Kazakhstan for wearing nothing but mankinis.

The group posed for photos dressed in the revealing swimsuits in the capital city of Astana last week.

Local media reported on Tuesday the tourists were arrested and fined 22,500 Tenge ($67; £51) each for their "indecent" appearances.

The costume was made notorious by Borat, a fictional Kazakh TV presenter played by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.

Sacha Baron Cohen/Borat poses for photographersImage source, PA
Image caption,

Sacha Baron Cohen and Borat made the mankini famous in 2006

The news sparked a lively debate among Kazakh social media users.

Journalist Assem Mirjekeeva asked on Facebook, external: "I wonder how would the Czech authorities react if our citizens did the same in their country?"

"I think they would have not reacted. It is because our police are so sensitive," replied Facebook user Vitaliy Shuptar.

"This is teasing, they should have been jailed," @_solar__eclipse_ commented on Instagram, external.

"They should have had a criminal charge for insulting the honour of the nation," another poster said.

Borat remains a controversial figure in the Central Asian state.

In 2006, Baron Cohen wrote and produced the comedy film Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, which follows the character of Borat Sagdiyev as he travels to the US to make a documentary.

Actor Sacha Baron Cohen appears in character as Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev at a press conferenceImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Sacha Baron Cohen's character is well-known for his mock-documentary feature film

Kazakhstan banned the film and sales of the DVD. The government also threatened to sue Baron Cohen.

Although the sections of the film set in Kazakhstan were mainly filmed in Romania, Kazakh officials felt the movie portrayed the country as a racist, sexist and primitive.

However, in 2012, the Kazakh foreign minister publicly thanked Baron Cohen for boosting tourism in the central Asian state.

You may also like:

  • Stormzy stuck in ladies loo at MTV EMAs and snapchats for help

  • Turkmenator 2: The cult of personality

  • 'Embarrassing' car insurance photo gaffe shared online

A no photography signImage source, Reuters

However, taking distasteful photos or wearing inappropriate fancy dress in many different nations may land you in hot water.

A pair of tourists, one British and one French, were questioned by police in Peru last year after posing naked at the Machu Picchu ruins. In 2015, a British visitor was arrested for posing naked on top of a mountain in Malaysia.

And seventeen British men were arrested in 2005 for wearing nuns' habits, external in the Greek island of Crete.

Additional reporting by BBC Monitoring

More on this story

  • Kazakh US exhibition banishes country's Borat image

    • Published
      17 September 2012
    Raised bronze trays featuring a figure kneeling in front of a horse at the Smithsonian Freer and Sackler Asian Art galleries
  • Borat tune stuns Kazakh medallist

    • Published
      23 March 2012

Top stories

  • Live. 

    Asylum seekers can stay at hotel in Epping after government wins appeal

    • 10848 viewing11k viewing
  • Asylum hotel ruling won't feel like much of a victory at Home Office

    • Published
      49 minutes ago
  • How a leaked phone call derailed the Thai PM's career - and the Shinawatra dynasty

    • Published
      7 hours ago

More to explore

  • Asylum hotel ruling won't feel like much of a victory at Home Office

    Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, a middle aged woman with short grey hair, stares intently at the camera. She is wearing a pink jacket
  • How a leaked phone call derailed the Thai PM's career - and the Shinawatra dynasty

    Thailand's suspended prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra arrives for a press conference in Bangkok on July 1, 2025. She can be seen smiling as she walks through a doorway in a dark green blazer which she is wearing over a white shirt and white and blue floral skirt.
  • What is chickenpox and how can I get my child vaccinated?

    A boy with chickenpox has used calamine lotion on his spots to reduce itching
  • Emma Stone dazzles Venice with alien kidnap drama

    Emma Stone attends the "Bugonia" red carpet during the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on August 28, 2025 in Venice, Italy.
  • Survivors of South Africa's horrific building fire now live in fear of guns

    A head and shoulders shot of Thobeka Biyela wearing a blue-and-white striped vest top. She is standing in front of her corrugated iron home.
  • 'India put us on the boat like captives - then threw us in the sea'

    Soyed Noor (centre) and some of the other refugees speak to the BBC via a video call from Myanmar
  • A 'joyful' girl and a boy who loved sports - Victims in Minneapolis shooting identified

    From left: Harper Moyski, 10, and Fletcher Merkel, 8. Harper is smiling at the camera with wind in her hair. Fletcher is leaning on a railing and wearing a red shirt while smiling
  • What has changed 20 years on from Hurricane Katrina?

    • Attribution
      Weather
    A flooded street in New Orleans with damaged houses, debris and an overturned vehicle
  • Weekly quiz: What food did Meghan reveal Harry doesn't like?

    Meghan Sussex smiles as she stands in a kitchen
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Trump ends Secret Service protection for Harris

  2. 2

    Asylum hotel ruling won't feel like much of a victory at Home Office

  3. 3

    Doctor arrested over posts about son's rape victim

  4. 4

    Body of Israeli hostage recovered in Gaza, IDF says

  5. 5

    Sexist Italian image-sharing website forced to shut after political outcry

  6. 6

    How a leaked phone call derailed the Thai PM's career - and the Shinawatra dynasty

  7. 7

    Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch's secrets to successful marriages

  8. 8

    'Sometimes I hate my players, sometimes I want to quit' - Amorim

    • Attribution
      Sport
  9. 9

    Madeleine McCann suspect to be released in less than three weeks

  10. 10

    UK blocks Israeli government delegation from arms trade fair

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • Rolf Larsen investigates the case of a missing child

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    DNA
  • Comedian Bob Mortimer chooses his desert island tracks

    • Attribution
      Sounds
    Desert Island Discs: Bob Mortimer
  • Freddie Mercury: from iconic shots to private snaps

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    A Life in Ten Pictures: Freddie Mercury
  • When an Olympic badminton match caused controversy

    • Attribution
      Sounds
    Sporting Witness: Shuttlecock scandal
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.