ST. PETERSBURG, December 7 - RAPSI. The St. Petersburg Nevsky District has sentenced former mixed martial artist Vyacheslav Datsik, accused of robbery and church arson, to five years in prison, the court spokesperson told RIA Novosti.

As a professional MMA fighter, Datsik was widely known as "Red Tarzan." He has pleaded not guilty to the crimes he is charged with, which are punishable by up to 10 years in prison. His alleged accomplice in an arson, Pavel Stepanov, has also pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Datsik was arrested in 2007 and accused of stealing mobile phones from shops in St. Petersburg. Psychiatrists declared him schizophrenic, absolving him of criminal liability for the robberies. He later escaped from the mental institution where he was being treated.

In September 2010, Datsik was arrested with a loaded handgun while seeking asylum in an Oslo immigration office. In late December, a Norwegian court sentenced him to eight months in jail for illegal arms possession.

He was deported to Russia for prosecution in March 2011. A psychiatric examination conducted last November found Datsik to be sane.

Datsik is reported to be a member of the Slavic Union Ultranationalist movement, which is banned in Russia but reportedly has an office in Norway.