Main image: The Düsseldorf artist Jacques Tilly stands in front of a figure of Putin. (picture alliance / dpa / Federico Gambarini)
A Moscow court, in absentia, sentenced German sculptor Jacques Tilly, known for creating carnival satire targeting Putin, to eight years and six months in prison for allegedly insulting religious feelings and spreading fake news about the Russian armed forces, according to Tagesschau.
"The court in Moscow, in absentia, sentenced German sculptor and carnival artist Jacques Tilly to eight years and six months of imprisonment. Judge Konstantin Ochirov, in this controversial trial, found Tilly guilty of violating religious feelings and disseminating false information about the Russian armed forces. The charges were based on Tilly’s carnival floats that criticized Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and the war he started against Ukraine," the report states.
Tilly, who did not participate in the trial or attend the hearing, was convicted.
Tilly is famous for his sharp satirical floats for Düsseldorf’s carnival parade on "Rose Monday." His works regularly appear on the front pages of German and international media after the carnival. He has repeatedly focused his creations on the Kremlin dictator Putin.
Reacting to the verdict with characteristic sarcasm, Tilly said:
"Now everyone can see that the Russian regime is afraid of paper figures. With this verdict, they make themselves a laughingstock and don’t realize how shameful it is—how much they fear satirical criticism."
The German Embassy in Moscow also strongly condemned the decision.
"Jacques Tilly’s sentence shows that the criminalization and persecution of free speech by the Russian authorities continue unabated, and are now extending even beyond their borders. This concerns us directly," said the German Ambassador Alexander Graf Lambsdorff.
