In Moscow, the trial against Jacques Tilly, a renowned carnival float designer from Düsseldorf, continues. The Russian prosecutor's office accuses the artist of insulting President Vladimir Putin, offending religious feelings, and spreading LGBT propaganda. The case focuses on satirical installations presented during parades in Germany, which targeted Kremlin policy and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. During recent hearings, prosecution witnesses testified.

Charges against the artist

Jacques Tilly is accused of insulting Putin, offending religious feelings, and spreading LGBT propaganda through his carnival sculptures.

Witness testimonies

Before the Moscow court, prosecution witnesses claimed that Tilly's caricatures violate their dignity and religious beliefs.

Defense line

The artist argues that his works are a response to the politicization of religion by the Church, which supports Russian wartime actions.

In Moscow, an unprecedented criminal trial is underway against Jacques Tilly, a distinguished German sculptor and creator of famous carnival floats. The artist has been charged by the Russian judiciary with a series of offenses, including insulting the head of state and violating the religious feelings of believers. The main point of the indictment concerns satirical figures prepared for the annual Rose Monday (Rosenmontag) in Düsseldorf, which sharply criticized Vladimir Putin and Russian military aggression. Prosecutors claim Tilly's work constitutes an unacceptable form of defamation and also contains elements of so-called homosexual propaganda, banned by radical Russian moral legislation. During the latest stages of the proceedings, witnesses called by the prosecution appeared before the court, declaring that the artist's works deeply wounded their religious feelings. This aspect of the case is linked to the sculptor's frequent use of sacred symbolism in a political context, which is severely punished under the Russian legal system. The accused himself, defending his stance in court, pointed to the role of the Church in legitimizing the armed conflict in Ukraine. The artist emphasized that Patriarch Kirill I gave the war the character of a "holy war," making religion a legitimate object of political and artistic criticism. The institution of trials in absentia or prosecuting foreign artists has become a tool in Russia for combating criticism from the West, especially after the tightening of laws on discrediting the army and state authorities in 2022.The situation of Jacques Tilly is being closely monitored by international organizations defending freedom of speech and the governments of European countries. The Russian judiciary is consistently building a narrative about fighting "Western decadence," using criminal trials for propaganda purposes. Alongside charges of insulting state officials, the prosecution emphasizes the offense to traditional values, a constant element of Kremlin rhetoric. Parallel to the events in the courtroom, in the broader wartime context, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed a temporary ceasefire in the area of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which allowed for necessary repair work at the facility. „Kyrill hat Krieg zum Heiligen Krieg erklärt” (Kirill has declared war a holy war) — Jacques Tilly

Mentioned People

  • Jacques Tilly — German artist and sculptor accused in Moscow of defaming Vladimir Putin.
  • Władimir Putin — President of Russia, whose caricatures became the basis of the indictment.
  • Cyryl I — Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus', whose stance on the war was cited in the trial.