"I think God has given me this challenge," Pletnev told the German Press Agency dpa, as he left Pattaya Provincial Court, where he is required to appear every 12 days according to bail conditions. "I feel some spiritual lift from the matter."
Pletnev, one of Russia's most acclaimed musicians and a founder of the Russian National Orchestra, was allowed to leave Thailand on July 7 on condition that he appears regularly at the Pattaya court where he faces charges of raping a 14yearold Thai boy.
Since his arrest, Pletnev, 53, has left Thailand twice, once to attend a concert in Macedonia and last week to attend his mother's birthday party in Moscow.//DPA
