ST.-PETERSBURG, September 3 - RAPSI. Former mixed martial artist Vyacheslav Datsik, who has been accused of committing robbery and a church arson attack, has applied for release on $30,700 bail in St. Petersburg's Nevsky District Court, his attorney Andrei Fedorkov told RIA Novosti on Monday.

The crimes are punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

As a professional fighter, Datsik was widely known as "Red Tarzan."

He has denied the charges against him. His alleged accomplice in the arson Pevel Stepanov has also pleaded innocent to the charges.

"Today, the court is considering inter alia extending his arrest until December 5. This was requested by the prosecutor's office, while Datsik seeks release on bail," Fedorkov said. The court is now in the jury room preparing its decision, he added.

Datsik was arrested in Russia in 2007 and accused of stealing mobile phones at shops in St. Petersburg. Psychiatrists declared him schizophrenic, absolving him of criminal liability for the robberies. He later escaped from the mental institution where he was being treated.

In September 2010, Datsik was detained with a loaded handgun while seeking asylum in an Oslo immigration office. In late December, a Norwegian court sentenced him to eight months in jail for illegal arms possession.

He was deported to Russia for prosecution in March 2011. A psychiatric examination conducted last November found Datsik to be sane.

Datsik is reported to be a member of the Slavic Union ultranationalist movement, which is banned in Russia but reportedly has an office in Norway.