A Peruvian transgender activist and Harvard graduate student died in police custody while on his honeymoon in Bali earlier this month — and his family is demanding answers from Indonesian authorities after accusing them of violence and transphobia.

Rodrigo Ventosilla, 32, was detained by customs police for illegal marijuana possession when he arrived in Bali along with his new husband, Sebastian Marallano, on Aug. 6, Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. 

Two days after the arrest, Ventosilla began complaining of stomach pains and vomiting, and was rushed to a hospital, where he died on Aug. 11 from what has been described as a “failure of bodily functions” affecting his kidneys, liver and brain.

Bali police spokesperson Stefanus Satake Bayu Setianto said Ventosilla became ill after ingesting an unspecified drug that had not been confiscated by cops at the time of his arrest at Bali’s airport. 

Last week, Ventosilla’s relatives accused Bali authorities of “police violence … racial discrimination and transphobia,” according to a statement that was posted on Instagram.

The Harvard student’s family members said they did not know the cause of his death but argued that he was denied access to legal defense and information, and barred from communicating with his relatives.

They claimed that the drugs that were allegedly found in Ventosilla’s possession were, in fact, prescription medications “related to his mental health.”

The statement from the family further said that Balinese police demanded “exorbitant sums” of up to $200,000 from Ventosilla and his newlywed husband, who was also detained, in exchange for their release.

Police spokesman Bayu last week denied any violence against Ventosilla and said the case was now closed.

Students and faculty at the Harvard Kennedy School, where Ventosilla was studying towards a master’s degree in public administration, echoed the family’s calls for an investigation into his death, the Harvard Crimson newspaper reported.

“The statement from Rodrigo’s family raises very serious questions that deserve clear and accurate answers,” wrote Harvard Kennedy School Dean Douglas Elmendorf.

Ventosilla was a founding member of the Peruvian trans rights organization Diversidades Trans Masculinas, the Crimson reported.

His husband had returned to Peru alone, according to Marallano’s family, but Ventosilla’s body has not been released yet to his family.

Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it had asked Indonesian authorities to strictly follow “the human rights of its two nationals” but added that the original detention “does not correspond with acts of racial discrimination or transphobia.”

On Monday, Ventosilla’s family announced that it had filed a lawsuit against Peruvian authorities for allegedly failing to provide immediate help to the Harvard student and his husband after their arrests, reported the Independent.

Relatives of the deceased trans activist called on the Peruvian foreign ministry to pursue a more thorough investigation, and following multiple protests in Lima last week, the government relented.

Indonesia has among the region’s harshest anti-narcotics laws, with penalties including capital punishment. 

With Post wires