MOSCOW (AP) — A controversial Russian performance artist says he has requested asylum in France after being informed of rape charges against him.

Pyotr Pavlensky faced two trials in Russia last year on vandalism charges for two stunts in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In one, he set fire to the doors of the headquarters of the Russian security agency FSB, formerly the KGB, in Moscow, in what he claimed was political art.

Pavlensky told Ukraine's Hromadske television on Monday that he and his wife were detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and told he was facing rape charges. Pavlensky spoke of spending a night with an actress, which turned out to be a trap.

Pavlensky said he and his family have since left Russia and are seeking political asylum in France.