ST. PETERSBURG, October 20 (RAPSI) - Pyotr Pavlensky who staged an eccentric stunt on the roof of the Serbsky Mental Institution in Moscow last Sunday by cutting off one of his ear lobes, was hospitalized and found sane, his lawyer Dmitry Dinze told RAPSI on Monday.

“A psychiatrist talked to him, examined him and concluded that Pavlensky was healthy and will not require any psychiatric treatment and therefore does not need to be hospitalized,” Dinze said.

The media reported on Monday that Pavlensky was admitted to Botkinskaya Hospital in Moscow with alleged pneumonia. Dinze reported that he talked with his client on the telephone. Pavlensky told him that he was examined by a physician and a psychiatrist.

The physician did not confirm pneumonia. The lawyer intends to obtain his client’s medical records from the hospital.

At the same time, the lawyer is hoping that Pavlensky’s breach of recognizance, by leaving St. Petersburg, will not result in an arrest after his stunt in Moscow.  “He was not trying to flee or commit a crime. A change in pretrial restraint measure is unlikely, except, he may be placed under house arrest,” Dinze said.

According to the lawyer, Pavlensky is supposed to return to St. Petersburg now where he will have to explain to investigators why he violated his travel restrictions.

In February 2014, Pavelnsky and other activists staged a protest on the Maly Konyushenny Bridge near the Church of the Savior on Blood in St. Petersburg. They burned car tires, waved Ukrainian flags and banged sheet metal with sticks. The police arrested several people, including Pavlensky, and opened an administrative case on minor hooliganism. The court issued a 10,000 ruble ($247) fine for Pavlensky. A case on more serious charges of group vandalism was opened over the same incident this spring.

Pavlensky is known for a number of controversial campaigns. In July 2012, he sewed up his mouth and stood at the Kazan Cathedral with a poster in support of Pussy Riot. In May 2013, Pavlensky lay down on the ground in front of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly naked with barbed wire around his body. In November 2013, also naked, Pavlensky nailed his genitals to the pavement at Red Square near the Mausoleum.