Radio license fee not paid: Man is imprisoned for six months

Georg Thiel does not own a television or radio and therefore does not want to pay a license fee.

Now he's in prison.

Borken / North Rhine-Westphalia - The broadcast fee, formerly GEZ contribution, is controversial among the population.

In the past, many consumers bypassed payment by not letting the GEZ inspectors into their homes.

Today everyone has to pay because a new regulation was introduced in 2013.

Since then, there has been a device-independent radio license fee - if you fail to pay, you face penalties.

The case of the EDP draftsman Georg Thiel shows what can happen if you still refuse to pay.

The man from Borken had refused to pay the radio license and is now in prison.

However, the case has been dragging on for years: “The WDR is legally obliged to set back radio contributions.

Over the years there have been numerous written offers and then reminders to Mr. Thiel.

Debtors also have the option to end compulsory detention at any time if they give an asset report, ”says a message from the WDR to the

Bild newspaper

is present.

Thiel has no radio and no television.

When his last radio broke in 2010, he reported this to the GEZ and was initially deregistered.

Due to the new regulation from 2013, however, he was charged again with fees.

The radio license actually serves to enable independent reporting.

The fees ensure that the reporting is not influenced by corporations and advertising partners.

However, there are different opinions about the license fee, as the video shows:

GEZ objectors: Is jail time "proportionate"?

What seems difficult to understand for laypeople is proportionate from the point of view of the Federal Constitutional Court.

The enforcement was carried out in the interest of the community of contributors and there was nothing constitutional against the imprisonment (von Thiel), according to a current resolution from April 2021.

Thiel could have disclosed his assets, but waived it.

He was therefore placed in what is known as “coercive detention” and continues to refuse to provide the state with information about his property.

"Georg Thiel has not committed a crime, he owes something," explains Solmecke on his channel WBS on the case.

"According to Section 802G of the Code of Civil Procedure, you can then be placed in coercive detention." Thiel is not the only case of its kind, but it receives a lot of attention.

"In the non-paying scene, such people are celebrated as heroes," explains Solmecke.

Radio license fee: Jürgen Domian does not want to speak to the caller about Georg Thiel?

The popular presenter Jürgen Domian received a call on exactly this topic on his show "Domian live" last Friday. The caller "Tobias" initially pretended to say something to Cardinal Marx. When he was directed to the live broadcast, however, he addressed the subject of Georg Thiel. Domian received the information via a button in his ear that the caller had come to the show under wrong specifications. "You are coming up with a completely different topic, I don't think that's okay," Domian explained calmly to the caller. Some viewers suspected censorship on the subject, as "Domian Live" is broadcast on WDR.

Uff.

Domian listens to the voices in his ears because it's about #FreeGeorgThiel.

The WDR is just tough when it comes to its own interests.

Then more than 100 days of jail doesn't matter.

pic.twitter.com/ody6o2L9yV

- Liberal Mut (@LiberalMut) June 8, 2021

Domian on callers on the subject of Georg Thiel: "False false pretenses" - not censorship

Domian is known, however, for talking about all topics, which in the course of his 20-year career resulted in a colorful mixture of stories about unusual living conditions, special sexual practices or even reptilians in politics. Domian clearly rejects the fact that he shied away from the subject of Georg Thiel. Of course, he would have spoken to the caller about the subject. He only ended the conversation because Tobias “cheated on the show under false pretenses. If he had honestly offered his topic, I would of course have spoken to him about it, ”explained Domian.

So why not do a show on the topic?

Until then, consumers will be

discussing the case on social media using the

hashtag

#FreeGeorgThiel

.

The WDR director Tom Buhrow did not want to comment on the topic yet.

GEZ refuser: This is how it could go on with Georg Thiel

The Westdeutsche Rundfunk Köln (WDR) had arranged the prison sentence in the JVA Münster and, according to the

Bild newspaper, has

to pay for the costs. These currently amount to 14,378 euros, whereas Thiel's bill is only 1,827 euros. Solmecke calculates that after the six months' imprisonment, costs of 18,000 euros were incurred, which must first be advanced by the Borken state treasury. Georg Thiel's imprisonment lasts a maximum of six months - unless he discloses his assets. The detainee went on a hunger strike on May 26th.

What actually happens for Georg Thiel after the six months of forced detention have expired? According to Solmecke, Thiel may be arrested again after two years if he has not provided any information about his assets by then.