The date for preliminary hearings into a high-profile criminal case against Russian performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky has been set.
Pavlensky's lawyer, Dmitry Dinze, said on April 21 that preliminary hearings into his client’s case will take place on April 28.
Pavlensky was arrested in November hours after he poured gasoline on the doors of the headquarters of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and set them on fire.
Pavlensky, 32, says it was an act of political protest.He could face up to three years in prison on vandalism charges.
Pavlensky has held a series of political protest performances that include nailing his scrotum to Red Square and cutting off part of his ear while standing atop a psychiatric clinic.
He explained his performances as a way to draw attention to the indifference shown by Russian society to widespread FSB control.