Renowned pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev, accused of child sex abuse in Thailand, is leaving on a tour of Europe and the United States. Next Monday he is due to open a festival on the shores of a lake in Ohrid, Macedonia.
Pletnev, a Grammy Winner, has been charged on Tuesday before being freed on bail. The Court allowed him to leave the country but ordered him to be back on July 18 for further investigation.
Pletnev left Thailand on Thursday for Moscow. He told a news conference in Moscow that he had committed no atrocities and would defend his honour.
Pletnev, the Russian National Orchestra Conductor, said he learned of charges made against him in Thailand from the internet.
"I will tell you how things really were," Pletnev said. "I was vacationing in Thailand which I visit often. It is a wonderful country."
The musician said he had been dining in a bar when policemen approached him and suggested the ride to his house. "They inspected the house, found nothing, and then they escorted me to a police station and set me free afterwards," he said.
"I have not yet received an official notification of the charges proffered against me," Pletnev sald. He said the next day he was amazed to read in the internet that he was accused of involvement in organizing a children prostitution ring.
"I was even more amazed on reading in the internet that discs with peculiar contents had been confiscated from me. There was no such thing," he said.
"So I finally decided to engage in my usual occupations - music, art," he said. He also sail he had never had an incident of this kind either in Thailand or in any other country. "There was no such thing, ever," he said. "I don't know what other provocations are in store for me, but I will resist. Time will show," Pletnev said.
Pletnev is to leave Russia on Friday, July 9, to go with his orchestra on a tour abroad, beginning in Macedonia on July 12. According to the stipulated procedure, he must be back in Pattaya by July 18.
Thailand's court permitted Pletnev to leave the country for some time, despite being charged with child molesting.