Half-naked activist posing as Christ ties himself to a cross outside Russia's FSB headquarters in support of 'political prisoners' - before being jailed for 15 days
A half-naked protester was detained after dramatically enacting his own crucifixion outside the headquarters of the feared FSB security service in Moscow.
Pavel Krisevich, 20, wore a 'bloody loincloth and sneakers', as a fire was started beneath a huge cross on Lubyanka Square.
A Russian court on Friday jailed the activist for 15 days.
A half-naked protester dramatically enacted his own crucifixion in front of the FSB headquarters of the feared FSB security service in Moscow
Fellow activists lit a fire on the pavement in front of him and threw in the blaze what they said were criminal case materials in a performance symbolising pressure on political activists, according to a video of the performance uploaded online.
'The number of political prisoners is growing every year in Russia,' the activist's lawyer, Sergei Telnov, told AFP news agency, explaining the performance.
Krisevich was detained Thursday evening and spent the night in detention.
On Friday, Moscow's Tverskoi district court jailed him for 15 days for resisting police, a court spokeswoman, Olga Bondareva, told AFP.
Telnov, the activist's lawyer, denied that he had resisted police.
'Pavel was detained at Lubyanka near the FSB building, while posing as Christ,' said lawyer Sergei Telnov.
Pavel Krisevich, 20, wore a 'bloody loincloth and sneakers', as a fire was started beneath a huge cross on Lubyanka Square
Fellow activists lit a fire on the pavement in front of him and threw in the blaze what they said were criminal case materials in a performance symbolising pressure on political activists, according to a video of the performance uploaded online
'I don't know yet which police station he has been taken to.'
A law enforcement source said: 'A young man wearing a bloody loincloth and sneakers started a fire, climbed a stool behind it and tied a big cross to his hands to enact crucifixion.
'The man was detained.'
Krisevich was pictured being carried away by officers in the Moscow square after his stunt
The activist - unhurt in the stunt - is known for stunts in support of 'political prisoners' in Russia and neighbouring Belarus.
Later reports said he was being held at nearby Kitai Gorod police station, and is expected to serve up to 30 days detention for the protest.
The headquarters of Vladimir Putin's FSB counterintelligence service are in a former tsarist-era insurance company building long associated with the repressive KGB in the Soviet era.
The activist - unhurt in the stunt - is known for stunts in support of 'political prisoners' in Russia and neighbouring Belarus
In 2015, controversial performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky set fire to the wooden doors of the FSB building.
Pavlensky had faced three years in jail on charges of damaging a cultural site but was released in June 2016 with a hefty fine.
Russian artists who carry out political stunts usually face up to 15 days in police cells for petty hooliganism. Depending on how their actions are interpreted they can face much stiffer sentences.
In 2012, two members of Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in a penal colony for hooliganism after their performance in a cathedral protesting against the close ties between the Russian Orthodox church and Russian President Vladimir Putin.