ST.-PETERSBURG, August 8 (RAPSI) - The Dzerzhinsky District Court of St. Petersburg did not uphold the Investigative Committee’s petition for a psychiatric evaluation of eccentric performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky, a RAPSI correspondent reports from courtroom.

In the early morning of February 23, 2014, Pavlensky and his accomplices set car tires on fire in central St. Petersburg. They pounded on metal sheets with sticks while waving a Ukrainian flag. The police arrested several participants of the “Petersburg Maidan,” including Pavlensky, who was charged with hooliganism. The court imposed a 10,000-ruble ($285) fine on Pavlensky who says he has not paid it yet.

Later in spring, the St. Petersburg Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on group vandalism. Pavlensky is currently a suspect in the case. His lawyer says the investigators are disregarding the fact that his client could be tried twice for the same offense.

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 Red Square paving near the Mausoleum. He was taken away from the square by ambulance.