Pyotr Pavlensky's arrest was extended until March 5

The Tagansky District Court of Moscow extended the arrest of the artist Pyotr Pavlensky, accused of vandalism (Part 2 of Article 214 of the Criminal Code) for setting fire to the doors of the FSB building on Lubyanka. Judge Natalya Larina left Pavlensky in custody until March 5 inclusive.

The actionist himself was not taken to a meeting to extend the arrest: Pavlensky is undergoing a forensic psychiatric examination at the Serbsky Scientific Center for Social and Psychiatric Expertise.

The artist's lawyer, Olga Dinze, pointed out that a petition for a measure of restraint and an extension of its validity could only be considered in the presence of the accused or suspect. The defender added that an exception can only be made if his personal participation in the meeting is impossible due to a mental disorder.

Dinze said that she wrote to Serbsky with a request to allow her a meeting with her client, but the institution has not yet received a response. The lawyer asked that the request for an extension of the arrest be returned to the interrogating officer Sokolov, who is investigating the case of setting fire to the doors of the FSB. Pavlensky's second lawyer, Dmitry Dinze, supported her petition.

The investigator replied that he had talked with Pavlensky's attending physician, who would conduct the examination, and the physician assured him that it was forbidden to carry out any investigative actions during the inpatient examination in Serbsky. The court refused to return the request for an extension.

Sokolov asked to extend his detention until March 6, 2016. The prosecutor supported this motion.

Dmitry Dinze recalled that Pavlensky is a defendant in another criminal case - about the Svoboda rally in St. Petersburg - but he never hid from the court, and the judge of the world precinct No. 199, Yana Nikitina, did not change his preventive measure from undertaking not to leave to arrest. Dmitry Dinze noted that investigator Sokolov paralyzes the consideration of the case in St. Petersburg: if Pavlensky were free, he would go to meetings.