ST.-PETERSBURG, June 28 - RAPSI. The St. Petersburg Nevsky District Court has postponed until July 9 the hearing of the case of former mixed martial artist Vyacheslav Datsik, accused of robbery and arson attack on a church, as one of his public defenders failed to arrange a meeting with him at the investigative isolation ward, attorney Vadim Dyegterev told journalists on Thursday.

Dyegterev claims public defender Alexander Chepets had been assigned to the case at one of the previous hearings but had not yet managed to meet with Datsik at the ward.

He added that a number of violations had also been committed by the wards administration. "He is only allowed to go for walks in handcuffs. His wife and children are not allowed to visit him, although the court has given permission for this". He said that Datsik has gone on a hunger strike as a result of these violations.

As a professional fighter, Datsik was widely known as "Red Tarzan." He has been charged with robbery and committing arson in a church, offenses punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Datsik was arrested in Russia in 2007 and accused of stealing mobile phones at 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, Datsik was detained 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 possession of a weapon.

He was then deported to Russia for prosecution.

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.