Russian court upholds 8.5-year sentence for German satirist Jacques Tilly
Translated from German, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
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Outcome reported
- A Moscow court upheld an 8.5-year prison sentence for German satirist Jacques Tilly, issued in absentia.
- Tilly was convicted for creating carnival floats mocking Russian President Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill.
- The satirist stated he would not prolong the "absurd show trial" by appealing, asserting the verdict would not affect his work.
A Russian appeals court has upheld a harsh prison sentence against German satirist Jacques Tilly, who was convicted in absentia for creating carnival floats that mocked Russian President Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill. The Moscow court confirmed the original sentence of eight and a half years in prison, rejecting the defense's appeal.
Judge Vladimir Usov announced the court's decision, stating that the defense's complaint against the verdict was dismissed and the sentence was confirmed. Tilly, who resides in Germany, is not directly affected by the ruling as he is not in Russia. He was initially sentenced in early April to a fine and a lengthy prison term on charges including spreading false information and offending religious feelings.
There is no reason for me to prolong this absurd show trial. The verdict is a farce anyway. It will not affect our satirical work in the carnival. We will continue as before.
The conviction stems from carnival floats Tilly designed that satirized the Russian president. The charge of offending religious feelings relates to a depiction of Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, on a float from 2024. Tilly's defense attorney, Natalya Dudkina, noted that she had no contact with Tilly during the proceedings and that a psychiatric evaluation of his sanity could not be conducted during the investigation. She had requested acquittal due to lack of evidence in the initial trial.
Tilly himself has dismissed the legal proceedings as an "absurd show trial" and has stated he has no intention of prolonging it by filing a further appeal. "There is no reason for me to prolong this absurd show trial," Tilly said in Düsseldorf. "The verdict is a farce anyway. It will not affect our satirical work in the carnival. We will continue as before." He has previously stated that he was never informed by Russian authorities about the investigation against him.
It was my legal duty as a defense attorney to appeal this verdict.
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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