Russian performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky, accused of setting fire to the main entrance of the Federal Security Service's headquarters, will remain in custody until March, the RIA Novosti news agency reported Tuesday.
The City Court has rejected the appeal of Pavlensky's lawyer Olga Dinz, who asked that he be released on bail or placed under house arrest, RIA Novosti reported.
Pavlensky himself did not participate in the court session as he is currently undergoing assessment of competency to stand trial at the Serbsky State Scientific Center for Social and Forensic Psychiatry.
Pavlensky was arrested and charged with vandalism after he poured petrol and set fire to the main entrance of FSB's main office on Moscow's Lubyanskaya Ploshchad on Nov. 9, 2015.
According to the artist, the action — titled “Threat.The Burning Doors of Lubyanka” — was a protest against repressive government policies.
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