Are retirees moving to the new DTV visa - anybody done it?

[biplanebluey]

More relevantly, if he was guilty, he no longer has to return to Thailand as he promised to do.

for heavens sake,get your facts straight before you go blabbering------HE CAME BACK 2 OR 3 DAYS AGO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Deeral]

Gospodin Pletnev must be a happy man now.

Not if he felt he could clear his name - let's face it true or not shit sticks.

[jayjay0]

Perhaps someone who understands Thai law better than myself can clarify or confirm, but I was of the understanding that any foreigner who is charged or arrested automatically has their Visa revoked/cancelled and also is automatically blacklisted. I'm assuming also then that if that person is found Not Guilty after a Trial, they are then able to have this reversed.

I did some research for those that are interested (click here) . . . don't know how accurate it is but seems like #6 and #7 would apply in this case.

Good post I would tend to put 8 on the list also.

[jayjay0]

Thinking that the guy is innocent just cause he came back to thailand is a bit too much. I'm not a cops fan, but i seriously doubt that an innocent man is pedo-charged for nothing. I guess most of us think the same here (thai legal system aside...)

Many people have been "pedo-charged" and the charges were not proven in the end. Especially in Thailand, there are people who are charged with lots of things that they did not do so that some cops or law enforcement can make money out of them. From the cop who runs up to you, a non-smoker, with a cigarette butt in his hand and tells you to pay a big fine because you have put your cigarette out on the street to the cops who stop you on your motorbike and make up some infringement that you did not do to get their donation to the security guards in league with the cops who framed many foreigners for "stealing" from duty free shops to the cops who tried to fit up the foreigner in one city over a girl he met in a brothel who turned out to be either barely underage (rumour has it that he committed suicide in prison - but that might have been because he was prepared to call the policemens bluff, sweat it out for a few months in remand jail and tell the court exactly what happened!).

Getting someone on pedophilia means that they can get more money. Especially if the accused has a high profile. Suddenly it backfires and now we have this. It would be a comedy if it were not so weirdly nasty.

Are you condemning these police men before they have been taken to court and found guilty. You obviously don't have the high moral standards of most of these posters. Boy are they going to get you LOL

[Pib]

Unbelievable. I know TiT, but sometimes this place still shocks me. Unbelievable.

Yeap, Amazing Thailand.

[kevinsan]

Certainly not the only Russian in the system on trumped up charges. Where is Mr. Bout anyway?

[tingtongfarang]

If this story is in fact true, it makes a total mockery of justice in Thailand. Might this be because Pletnev has shown he will fight the case in Court and the authorities are so incensed by the international media response (which has highlighted the fact that Thailand is a haven for pedophiles rather than the efforts of the country to clean up its act) that they literally want the case and Pletnev to disappear? Wherever he is now, he cannot get back to Thailand and report back to the Court as ordered. So he is doubly damned. Accused of being a pedophile and treated as one without any shred of evidence being brought out in Court! Yet not even allowed to prove his innocence (if that is the case). What makes this even more disgraceful is that the Immigration Chief has acted before getting a reply from the "Child and Women Unit". I am shocked and appalled.

MAYBE WE SHOULD WAIT UNTIL HE IS CONVICTED ? JUST A THOUGHT LA !.....

Perfectly fair point. But it seems the Thai Justice System will not even give him that opportunity! I hope there is an international outcry over this.

I think you may be looking at it the wrong way.

They've stopped his visa so he can't come back and face charges.

What if influential people from whichever country have found a way to let him go free without Thailand losing face.

The Thais can't prosecute him because they've put him on a blacklist and won't let him back into the country.

I wonder who gets to keep all the guy's assets in Thailand. Hasn't he got houses and businesses all over the place?

Makes you think.

Some of you are totally missing the point. The guy CAME BACK LAST WEEK AND REPORTED TO COURT JUST AS HE SAID HE WOULD DO. After his court appearance he told the press, he came back to prove his integrity, and to show he's a man of his word. He also stated he knows who is behind the charges, and that it's pretty much a frame up. THAT is not what the Thai courts expected. They figured he would not come back, but when he did, and reported to the court as he was supposed to, they had to come up with something else. So, cancel the visa and blacklist him, even though he's hasn't been found guilty of a single thing.

If I were the Russian Ambassador, I would be DEMANDING a meeting with Abhist and voicing my serious disapproval of what is going on, and then call a major press conference with every news media, local and international, and totally trash the justice system here in Thailand, exposing it for the corrupt entity that it really is.

Exactly my thoughts also,

I consider that this action of canceling his visa and then blacklisting is screaming to the rest of the world that he was innocent of the crime,

But i dont think the immigration or justice system here would realize that...TIT

Edited July 21, 2010 by tingtongfarang

[Sateev]

I just got a question: if the kid was yours, were all of you still supporting the paedophile farang and blaming Thai justice? LOL

If the kid were mine, I'd teach him that people are innocent until PROVEN guilty, and that only a**holes spout off calling people paedophiles when they have no knowledge of the facts.

Know what I mean?

[massimoscz]

I wish my best to Mr.Pletnev and i hope he can keep up his fight for justice, I can only add that the behavior of Thai immigration is very unprofessional and unfair

If this story is in fact true, it makes a total mockery of justice in Thailand. Might this be because Pletnev has shown he will fight the case in Court and the authorities are so incensed by the international media response (which has highlighted the fact that Thailand is a haven for pedophiles rather than the efforts of the country to clean up its act) that they literally want the case and Pletnev to disappear? Wherever he is now, he cannot get back to Thailand and report back to the Court as ordered. So he is doubly damned. Accused of being a pedophile and treated as one without any shred of evidence being brought out in Court! Yet not even allowed to prove his innocence (if that is the case). What makes this even more disgraceful is that the Immigration Chief has acted before getting a reply from the "Child and Women Unit". I am shocked and appalled.

MAYBE WE SHOULD WAIT UNTIL HE IS CONVICTED ? JUST A THOUGHT LA !.....

Perfectly fair point. But it seems the Thai Justice System will not even give him that opportunity! I hope there is an international outcry over this.

[LuckyLew]

it's interesting how thailand can set the rules on who it lets come here / stay here .

i was flabbergasted when the conductor returned here .

What is so interesting about it

Thailand can decide who it lets in and who it doesn't

Who should be allowed who gets to enter? The British?

Regarding the composer ....

If it looks like a duck ... walk like a duck ... quacks like a duck ...

Not the first time this person has had this type of issue

[KeyserSoze01]

I just got a question: if the kid was yours, were all of you still supporting the paedophile farang and blaming Thai justice? LOL

Until proven guilty in a court of law, yes. That is unless you want typical Thai justice, which is to extort as much money from the accused as possible, deport them, cease all their assets and chalk it up to 'good police work'...

Even if this case did go to court, I have zero faith in a kangaroo court which is the FACT in Thailand.

Makes you wonder why so many expats continue to call Thailand 'home'. The grass is starting to look much greener on other shores.

[Thai at Heart]

it's interesting how thailand can set the rules on who it lets come here / stay here .

i was flabbergasted when the conductor returned here .

What is so interesting about it

Thailand can decide who it lets in and who it doesn't

Who should be allowed who gets to enter? The British?

Regarding the composer ....

If it looks like a duck ... walk like a duck ... quacks like a duck ...

Not the first time this person has had this type of issue

Well aren't you the lucky one that no one has ever pointed a finger at you.

[Deeral]

I guess a trial whether he is guilty or not would involve exposing a lot of tawdry details about the sex trade in Thailand and would get a lot of publicity both in Raussia and the rest of the world - heaven forbid - is this "about face all about face"???

[jfchandler]

You may be right. It's all a matter of speculation at this point...

However, re tarnishing his rep, you should be aware that, according to media accounts that have been posted here in TV from Russia on this case, this same guy has been accused several times before in similar cases elsewhere..though those cases also didn't result in guilty verdicts...as best as I recall the reports...

So, he's no stranger to these kinds of allegations, but seems to have managed to escape the worst results each time... If he is in fact innocent, he sure seems to draw these kinds of charges like a magnet.

Sorry, I'm reading this development a different way...

If he's blacklisted and has his visa canceled, he'd either have to leave the country, or be actively deported by the Thai authorities, and be unable legally to return.

In that case, he'd never be present for the completion of the pending legal proceedings. So I'm not sure how the case could proceed to a verdict in those circumstances.

It seems rather a way of Thailand getting rid of the guy without having to put a prominent Russian artist on trial.... If true, that would seem to benefit a fair number of different interests in this mess.

...leaving aside the question of whether the guy is guilty or innocent. He's been accused before, so this episode would just be another one added to the list.

I dont think that is what's going on because they already tarnished his reputation. And blacklisting + Visa cancel doesn't make anything better

[astral]

So they are not expecting him to come back and answer the charges.........................

Without a visa he will be turned round at the airport.

[Thai at Heart]

You may be right. It's all a matter of speculation at this point...

However, re tarnishing his rep, you should be aware that, according to media accounts that have been posted here in TV from Russia on this case, this same guy has been accused several times before in similar cases elsewhere..though those cases also didn't result in guilty verdicts...as best as I recall the reports...

So, he's no stranger to these kinds of allegations, but seems to have managed to escape the worst results each time... If he is in fact innocent, he sure seems to draw these kinds of charges like a magnet.

Sorry, I'm reading this development a different way...

If he's blacklisted and has his visa canceled, he'd either have to leave the country, or be actively deported by the Thai authorities, and be unable legally to return.

In that case, he'd never be present for the completion of the pending legal proceedings. So I'm not sure how the case could proceed to a verdict in those circumstances.

It seems rather a way of Thailand getting rid of the guy without having to put a prominent Russian artist on trial.... If true, that would seem to benefit a fair number of different interests in this mess.

...leaving aside the question of whether the guy is guilty or innocent. He's been accused before, so this episode would just be another one added to the list.

I dont think that is what's going on because they already tarnished his reputation. And blacklisting + Visa cancel doesn't make anything better

Any links to these stories about him being accused elsewhere?

[EarthAlien]

If this story is in fact true, it makes a total mockery of justice in Thailand. Might this be because Pletnev has shown he will fight the case in Court and the authorities are so incensed by the international media response (which has highlighted the fact that Thailand is a haven for pedophiles rather than the efforts of the country to clean up its act) that they literally want the case and Pletnev to disappear? Wherever he is now, he cannot get back to Thailand and report back to the Court as ordered. So he is doubly damned. Accused of being a pedophile and treated as one without any shred of evidence being brought out in Court! Yet not even allowed to prove his innocence (if that is the case). What makes this even more disgraceful is that the Immigration Chief has acted before getting a reply from the "Child and Women Unit". I am shocked and appalled.

MAYBE WE SHOULD WAIT UNTIL HE IS CONVICTED ? JUST A THOUGHT LA !.....

Perfectly fair point. But it seems the Thai Justice System will not even give him that opportunity! I hope there is an international outcry over this.

Very aptly put Wozzit,.. you nailed all the fundamental dynamics and the Thai system of logic, saving face and hypocrisy in one.

If the Thai authorities were at all confident of the allegations and evidence then surely they would be falling over themselves to usher him back into the Kingdom where he can be arrested, tried, convicted and locked up.

The entire legal system and judicial process in this country is a sham and a joke. Thailand is fast set to become the everlasting laughing stock of the international community.

[massimoscz]

I think Thai Police (especially the Crime on Child and Women division and Immigration) are acting to show off to Farang that they are though and clever and that farang in Thailand are perverts. they also need continueous hot news on their activities to justify budget increase and carrier advancement. They are concealing the fact that most of them are unprofessional and have not enough evidence to destroy the life of a respect gentleman. I wish my best to Mr.Pletnev in his fight for justice and hope that Thai Government start to change approach on this kind of issues.

[jayjay0]

I just got a question: if the kid was yours, were all of you still supporting the paedophile farang and blaming Thai justice? LOL

If the kid were mine, I'd teach him that people are innocent until PROVEN guilty, and that only a**holes spout off calling people paedophiles when they have no knowledge of the facts.

Know what I mean?

If he did indeed do the fact you might have a hard time convincing the kid that he wasn't really guilty because a court of law had not said so.

[Sparkles]

So they are not expecting him to come back and answer the charges.........................

Without a visa he will be turned round at the airport.

Guilty or innocent is he realy going to be worried that he can't come back to Thailand ? This story will disappear shortly from the media like so many others.

[TAWP]

I just got a question: if the kid was yours, were all of you still supporting the paedophile farang and blaming Thai justice? LOL

My cats breath smells like cat food.

[marquess]

I think Thai Police (especially the Crime on Child and Women division and Immigration) are acting to show off to Farang that they are though and clever and that farang in Thailand are perverts. they also need continueous hot news on their activities to justify budget increase and carrier advancement. They are concealing the fact that most of them are unprofessional and have not enough evidence to destroy the life of a respect gentleman. I wish my best to Mr.Pletnev in his fight for justice and hope that Thai Government start to change approach on this kind of issues.

Here here to that!

[LaoPo]

If this story is in fact true, it makes a total mockery of justice in Thailand. Might this be because Pletnev has shown he will fight the case in Court and the authorities are so incensed by the international media response (which has highlighted the fact that Thailand is a haven for pedophiles rather than the efforts of the country to clean up its act) that they literally want the case and Pletnev to disappear? Wherever he is now, he cannot get back to Thailand and report back to the Court as ordered. So he is doubly damned. Accused of being a pedophile and treated as one without any shred of evidence being brought out in Court! Yet not even allowed to prove his innocence (if that is the case). What makes this even more disgraceful is that the Immigration Chief has acted before getting a reply from the "Child and Women Unit". I am shocked and appalled.

MAYBE WE SHOULD WAIT UNTIL HE IS CONVICTED ? JUST A THOUGHT LA !.....

Perfectly fair point. But it seems the Thai Justice System will not even give him that opportunity! I hope there is an international outcry over this.

It is world wide international news already -in many countries and languages- but mainly just reporting about the case without pointing a finger.

IMO it is quite remarkable that an Immigration Chief announces to withdraw his VISA before the trial has taken place.

After all, I understood, Mr. Mikhail Pletnev has his residence in the Pattaya area.

I think the Thai authorities are feeling uncomfortable with this international attention for Mr. Pletnev, whether guilty or innocent.

We'll see.

LaoPo

[moe666]

I do think that it's no more fair to say that Thailand is a haven for pedophiles than it is to prejudge the accused, nor an intelligent way of responding to the media, which everyone knows can't be taken seriously. The United States is crawling with them, they're loudmouthed and arrogant even where employed in school systems. Thankfully, I've not found myself required to share space with people like that or with heavy substance abusers, in fact, of the many people I know in Thailand, none of them are like that, so I'm proud and happy to be here. In the states, I couldn't get away from them. I hope and pray for a fair resolution of this tragic event, and encourage Thailand (and everyone) to be fair, reasonable and forgiving.

Can't get away from them were do you hang out in the states.

[noahvail]

If he should be deported before a trial, could he not be tried in absentia?

I seem to recall a case or two where that has happened.

[kuffki]

If anything Thailand should be holding on to him not only by the hands but legs and teeth. may be then some Thai musicians will reach somewhere close to the world standards.

They should be proud that such a famous person chose Thailand as a new home, once again not to mention all the allegations have not been proven yet and just 1 fact alone that the man returned to face his charges already shows his stature.

He could of easily not come back and fight it from elsewhere

[asiawatcher]

Of course the Justice system in Thailand is never real - user pays -

[moe666]

I do think that it's no more fair to say that Thailand is a haven for pedophiles than it is to prejudge the accused, nor an intelligent way of responding to the media, which everyone knows can't be taken seriously. The United States is crawling with them, they're loudmouthed and arrogant even where employed in school systems. Thankfully, I've not found myself required to share space with people like that or with heavy substance abusers, in fact, of the many people I know in Thailand, none of them are like that, so I'm proud and happy to be here. In the states, I couldn't get away from them. I hope and pray for a fair resolution of this tragic event, and encourage Thailand (and everyone) to be fair, reasonable and forgiving.

At last...a voice of reason. Well said sir!

You have got to be kidding

[snaggletooth]

So before even being found guilty these %% treat him like he is.........so much for the fair treatment rulling

The lesson here: If you want to get rid of a foreigner here you don't like, accuse him of child molestation and he'll won't any due process. Good to know

[Grey13]

MAYBE WE SHOULD WAIT UNTIL HE IS CONVICTED ? JUST A THOUGHT LA !.....

There are too many Russians in Thailand already. A friend, who is Russian, told me when I mentioned that Communism fell in Russia in 1990, that it didn't fall, it just changed names from Communism to Capitalism. The Communists had the money when it so- called "failed" so they bought the corporations. so the Communists still control Russia and are sending their underworld organised crime all over the world. They are fighting for control of drugs & prostitution in Pattaya & are buying up resorts & housing subdivisions in Phuket. This guy may not be convicted but I believe the police have enough on him that he would spend the rest of his life in the penitentiary in the U.S. or most other countries. He may be able to buy his way out here in Thailand but it appears as though the Thai government would rather get shed of him than have him hanging around bringing young boys home with him. Russian prostitutes come in on 30 day visitation visas in Pattaya & then are replace by more when that 30 day expires. Every person in Pattaya is well aware of it.