Image copyright Thai Immmigration Police Image caption Thai immigration police provided a handout photo of the two at the airport 
 
 Two US citizens are being held in Thailand after they posted an online picture of themselves posing with their buttocks exposed at a temple. 
 
 The tourists had taken the picture at Bangkok's famous Wat Arun temple and posted it on Twitter and Instagram. 
 
 Immigration authorities told the BBC the pair, Joseph and Travis Dasilva, both 38, would be fined and deported. 
 
 Thailand has very strict laws on behaviour considered disrespectful and offensive to its Buddhist religion. 
 
 The two tourists were held late on Tuesday when trying to leave the country at Bangkok's Don Mueang airport. 
 
 Deputy spokesman of the Thai immigration police, Col Choengron Rimpadee, told the BBC the two had been on a watch-list after authorities had spotted the controversial social media post. 
 
 "Once they are through with the charges, the Thai immigration police will revoke their visas and push for deportation," he said. "They will also be blacklisted from coming back to Thailand." 
 
 He explained the two were brought to Bangkok Yai police station to be charged with public nakedness, an offence liable for a fine of up to 5,000 baht ($153; £115). 
 
 However, other Thai government and police officials have told media that the charges could be more serious. 
 
 Image copyright Instagram Image caption The two took the the picture last week and posted it online 
 
 The San Diego Gay and Lesbian News quoted a San Diego city commissioner as saying the men had asked for help. 
 
 The commissioner, Nicole Murray-Ramirez, told the paper: "Though I am very disappointed in their actions, I am talking to US government officials to see what assistance we can give them." 
 
 People visiting Buddhist sites in Thailand are expected to dress modestly and signs advise them to cover their shoulders and legs. 
 
 Tourists are also told to not buy statues or images of Buddha as souvenirs. 
 
 In 2015, four European tourists received jail terms and fines in Malaysia for posing semi-nude on Mount Kinabalu, which is considered sacred. 
 
 Also in 2015, two American women were arrested, fined and deported for taking nude photographs inside Cambodia's Angkor Wat complex. 

 A local Hillcrest married couple were arrested at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok on Tuesday night. 
 
 Travis Dasilva, nee Ti, and Joseph Dasilva had warrants that charged them with showing their naked buttocks at Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) in Bangkok according to Bangkok Post. 
 
 Both men are United States citizens and were taken into custody by immigration police. 
 
 The 38-year-olds were taken into custody at the airport at approximately 8 pm local time while trying to leave the country said Pol Col Choenron Rimpadee, deputy spokesman of immigration police. 
 
 Both Travis and Joseph admitted to bending over and posing for the picture at the temple and were taken to the police station for legal action. 
 
 They were charged with getting naked in public which violates criminal law and could carry a fine of up to 5,000 baht. 
 
 City Commissioner Nicole Murray-Ramirez says the men reached out to him for assistance and he is currently talking to American authorities on what to do next. 
 
 “Though I am very disappointed in their actions, I am talking to U.S. government officials to see what assistance we can give them,” Murray Ramirez told San Diego Gay and Lesbian News. 
 
 Pol Col Choengron said in the report that tourists should have respect for “places of cultural, historical and religious importance because it is simple good manners.” 
 
 The Americans were detained at the police station in order to be brought to court. 

 BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai authorities have fined two American tourists for public indecency for posing for a “butt selfie” in front of a famous Buddhist temple, police said on Wednesday. 
 
 The two, who police identified as Joseph Dasilva, 38, and Travis Dasilva, 36, were arrested late on Tuesday at an airport in the capital, Bangkok. 
 
 They were each fined 5,000 baht ($154) for baring their buttocks for a picture taken last week at Bangkok’s Wat Arun, or Temple of the Dawn. 
 
 “The two American citizens have admitted taking the picture,” district police chief Jaruphat Thongkomol told Reuters. 
 
 While Thailand has a reputation for racy night life, the predominantly Buddhist country is deeply conservative and revealing clothing is frowned upon while public nudity is considered offensive. 
 
 The two men had an Instagram account called traveling_butts which showcased similar selfies taken at tourists sites around the world. The account had more than 14,000 followers but on Wednesday it had been deleted. 
 
 Jaruphat said the two would also be fined for a similar picture taken at another temple in Bangkok. 
 
 They were being held at an immigration detention center while police considered a possible violation of Thailand’s Computer Crime Act, as the photograph was uploaded online, Jaruphat said. 

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– The State Department cautions US travelers to understand foreign laws—a warning that a San Diego couple apparently failed to heed before arriving in Thailand, where a "butt selfie" has landed the pair in an immigration detention center. Thai authorities tell the BBC that a photo posted to Instagram and Twitter showed Joseph and Travis Dasilva, both 38, posing at Bangkok's Wat Arun temple with their bums bared, in violation of laws demanding respect of the Buddhist religion. The men were put on a watch list after the photo was spotted by authorities, according to a rep for Thai immigration police. They were then detained Tuesday as they tried to leave the country from Bangkok's Don Mueang airport. The rep says the men will be charged with public nudity, which carries a fine of up to $153 each. "Thai immigration police will revoke their visas and push for deportation. They will also be blacklisted from coming back to Thailand," the rep says. However, other government and police sources tell the BBC that the men could also face more serious charges. A city commissioner in San Diego says the pair are in contact, adding, "I am talking to US government officials to see what assistance we can give them," per the San Diego Gay and Lesbian News. The couple operated Instagram account "traveling_butts," which had 14,000 followers before it was deleted Wednesday, per Reuters. It has since resurfaced. "It was worth the arrest!!!" reads a comment on one of two butt-baring photos from Bangkok. "Always know the place you visit," reads another. "This is totally disrespectful!"