MOSCOW, July 12 (RAPSI, Diana Gutsul) - The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has registered a complaint filed by Russian performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky regarding his detention in the case over setting fire to the Moscow headquarters of the Federal Security Service (FSB), his attorney Irina Khrunova told RAPSI on Tuesday.

Russian authorities have violated Article 5 (Right to Liberty and Security) by illegally detaining and Article 10 (Freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights, the complaint says.

Eccentric artist Pavlensky was arrested on November 9, 2015, along with several other people who claim to be journalists that were invited to the artist’s performance. The next day Pavlensky was detained under a court decision.

Later, charges against him were reclassified from ‘vandalism’ to ‘destruction of cultural heritage sites’.

On June 8, the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow imposed a 500,000 ruble ($7,600) fine on performance Pavlensky and ruled in favor of this security agency, which sought 481 thousand rubles ($7,400) in the framework of a civil lawsuit.

According to Khrunova, Pavlensky’s performance was not violent and nobody suffered during the action. Therefore, the detention ordered by court was a disproportionate measure.

Pavlensky is known for a number of controversial performances.

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 scrotum to the Red Square pavement near the Lenin Mausoleum.

In October 2014, he staged an eccentric stunt on the roof of the Serbsky Mental Institution in Moscow by cutting off one of his earlobes.

In February 2015, Pavlensky and his accomplices burned car tyres, waved Ukrainian flags and banged sheet metal with sticks in a show of solidarity with the anti-government protesters in Ukraine. The performance was held near the Church of the Savior on Blood in St. Petersburg.