MOSCOW, October 6 (RAPSI, Olga Siverkina) – The Moscow City Court  on Monday upheld the detention of roofer Vladimir Podrezov, who has been charged with painting the star and hoisting a Ukrainian flag on a high-rise building in Moscow, RAPSI reports from the courtroom.

On August 20, a Ukrainian flag was spotted on the spire of the skyscraper on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment in central Moscow. The Soviet star on the spire was painted blue and yellow, the national colors of Ukraine.

Four young people with special climbing equipment were detained in the aftermath of the incident, charged with hooliganism and placed on house arrest. The four suspects said they were jumping from the high-rise building with parachutes when someone else painted the star and hoisted a Ukrainian flag on its spire.

They face up to seven years in prison if convicted.

The fifth suspect, Vladimir Podrezov from St. Petersburg, was arrested a few days later. Unlike the other four suspects, the court ruled to detain  him until October 19. His attorney Vadim Lisitsyn filed a motion to reverse this ruling. He said that Podrezov is not guilty of the crime with which he was charged.

The sixth suspect in the star-painting case, Kirill Ishutin, was arrested on drug possession charges. He faces up to 10 years in prison.