PARIS, October 18. /TASS/. Petr Pavlensky, a Russian performance artist, was released from psychiatric supervision in Paris on Tuesday, the AFP news agency said on Wednesday referring to police sources.
Pavlensky, who had earlier gained notoriety for nailing his scrotum to Moscow’s Red Square, was freed after an examination by psychiatrists working for the French police.
The controversial artist is to be placed under arrest and might be charged, AFP said. Paris police detained his partner, Oksana Shalygina. On Wednesday, she is expected to face a judge who might charge her as well.
On Monday, Pavlensky set fire to the entrance to a branch of France’s Banque de France in Paris. His partner assisted in the arson, local media said. Although its facade was considerably damaged, the bank resumed operation on Wednesday.
Under the French legislation, a deliberate arson to damage property or to threaten human lives is punished by ten years in jail and a fine of up to 150,000 euros.
Pavlensky, Shalygina and their two children moved to France from Russia after he had been accused of beating an actor of the Theater.doc and of sexually assaulting an actress of the same theater. In May 2017, Pavlensky received political asylum in France.
In June 2016, Pavlensky was fined 500,000 rubles ($8,400) for setting fire to the entrance of the headquarters of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in downtown Moscow.
Pavlensky had previously drawn public attention by nailing himself to Moscow's Red Square in November 2013. Other antics include an incident in October 2014, when he cut off his earlobe standing naked on the roof of the Serbsky Psychiatric hospital in Moscow.