ST. PETERSBURG, September 20 - RAPSI. The St. Petersburg Federal Penitentiary Service cannot confirm whether Mixed Martial Artist Vyacheslav Datsik charged with robbery and church arson has gone on a hunger strike, press secretary Alexander Zubov told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com).

Datsik has already gone on hunger strikes while in prison. Last time he did so was last summer in opposition to Nevsky District Court, which had considered his case. On Thursday, a number of media services reported that Datsik had gone on a hunger strike again.

"He did not go on a hunger strike or refuse food," Zubov said.

Datsik's attorney, Andrei Fedorkov, told RIA Novosti that he does not know whether his client is on hunger strike again.

"The hunger strike was announced at the end of last week, and I don't know whether he is doing it or not," the attorney said.

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.