Russian tourist arrested in Thailand
A Russian woman has been arrested while on holiday in Thailand on suspicion of stealing passports and a video camera from other tourists, Russian media reports said on Thursday.
The Russian embassy in Thailand said it was making enquiries into the arrest of Natalia Ivanova from the Siberian city of Irkutsk, who is in custody on the resort island of Koh Samui, 710 km (over 440 miles) from the capital, Bangkok.
Embassy press secretary Alexei Bulkin said reasons for the arrest were not completely clear: "The consular service is enquiring into the arrest at the moment."
Ivanova, who was arrested last Friday, insists the "young guys she got to know" at the Koh Phangan resort had stolen the items.
Bulkin also said Ivanova could be released soon on bail, but she will have to stay in Thailand until her trial, which could take at least three months.
Some media reports suggested the Russian tourist`s arrest was in connection with drugs, the possession of which in Thailand carries the death penalty.
Ivanova, along with her sister and three friends, arrive in Koh Phangan on November 21. She was arrested two days later after a search of her hotel room and questioning at a police station.
On Monday, she was transferred to a Samui jail, Russian media reported. Natalia`s friends, who met with her on Monday, said no formal charges had been brought against her at the time.
Thai prisons are notorious for their poor conditions. Most foreign prisoners held in prison are those arrested on drug or possession charges.
The previous incident involving Russian tourists in Thailand - a favorite destination for tens of thousands of Russians every year - occurred in February, when two Russian women were gunned down on a beach of the resort city of Pattaya in east Thailand.
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