The Bild newspaper was the first medium to use the name “GEZ-Rebell” for Georg Thiel. The GEZ has not existed since 2013, since the introduction of the radio license fee, but in the second part the tabloid word is not so inapplicable. After all, it is derived from the Latin rebellis, “renewing war”. And that is exactly what the Thiel case is currently being used for – to rekindle a war that has been raging for a long time: the one over public service broadcasting.
The 54-year-old, who refuses to pay radio license fees, has been in prison since February. A few weeks ago she helped him Picture on sunday (BamS) to greater attention. A reporter visited Thiel in the JVA Münster. “Prison visit to the GEZ rebels” was the headline of the newspaper. Thiel has had no television set for 25 years, no radio for ten years, and he sees his detention as a “protest against the shameful GEZ fee”. Thiel even went to the twice Hunger strike. A spokeswoman for the JVA Münster confirmed this to the SZ, but Thiel had not made any claims against the JVA.
The BamS also writes: “Georg Thiel preferred to go to jail than to pay 17.50 euros GEZ fees every month.” This connection is not entirely correct. In fact, Thiel is not in custody because he refuses to pay the radio license fee – but because he refuses to disclose his financial circumstances.
Only when the reminders are ignored several times does the local enforcement authority become active
Since 2013, the radio license fee has been compulsory for all households in Germany – regardless of whether they own and use a television or radio. Under certain conditions, citizens can be exempted from the obligation to contribute, for example if they receive social or unemployment benefits. That was around 2.6 million people last year. If someone who is not exempt does not pay the fee, the contribution service initiates a multi-stage dunning procedure. Only when the reminders are ignored several times does the local enforcement authority take action – using the same methods that are available to it for other debts. For example, it can seize accounts. If a debtor refuses to provide information about his assets – as in the case of Thiel – enforced detention can result.
The contribution service does not provide any information about how many “broadcast refusers” like Thiel there are in Germany. The specific reasons for non-payments would not be collected, according to a spokesman. However, it can be assumed that in the majority of cases financial or organizational reasons are the cause of a payment arrears. At the end of last year, out of a total of around 46 million contribution accounts, 3.3 million were in a dunning stage or in execution, according to the contribution service.
For reasons of data protection, the WDR, on whose behalf the compulsory detention is being carried out, cannot say anything about how long Thiel has not paid the radio fee. However, he points out that “a lot of time” usually elapses before coercive detention: “In such a case, the debtors have not paid their radio license for years.” Various courts have confirmed that this measure is lawful in the Georg Thiel case. Last that Federal Constitutional Court: The enforcement of public law claims is also in the interest of the community of all contributors who finance public broadcasting. A contributor who evades this and refuses to provide information on assets despite being obliged to do so must expect compulsory detention. Thiel could especially “avert the deprivation of liberty by submitting the property information at any time”.
You could also read it like this: Georg Thiel intends to sit in prison. If he were to disclose his assets, he would be released. “I am sitting here from my time. Again, I am not begging for my release,” said Thiel BamS. The SZ asked Thiel for a statement, but an interview with him was not possible at the time of going to press.
For those who are critical of the public service system anyway, the supposed scandal comes in handy. Under the hashtag #FreeGeorgThiel supporters gather on the net. Applause comes mainly from the right. “A shame!”writes blogger Boris Reitschuster, “Those who watch child porn stay free, those who do not see ÖRR end up in jail” the former AfD man Marcus Pretzell. Again and again there is talk of “compulsory levy”, of “state radio” and “abolish GEZ”.
Many Thiel supporters seem to be interested in more than the man from Borken. The AfD parliamentary group in the North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament has one Request in order to exclude compulsory detention for opponents in the broadcasting license agreement. In a speech on this, AfD MP Thomas Röckemann also speaks of “gradually abolishing public broadcasting” and mixes criticism of the public broadcasters with that of the corona mask requirement and curfews. CDU, SPD, FDP and Greens rejected the request.
The WDR could withdraw the enforcement order: “There is no reason to do so.”
Incidentally, Georg Thiel is not the only one who makes or is made a “GEZ rebel”. In 2016, a woman from Chemnitz hit the headlines. Like Thiel, she was in compulsory detention at the time because she refused to provide an asset information requested by the bailiff. She was released after two months. The MDR had withdrawn the application for the arrest warrant to be issued. Shortly afterwards the reported world of a young man who was in compulsory detention in Cologne JVA because he did not want to provide any information about his financial situation. He too was released after a short time.
The WDR could also withdraw its enforcement order – then Georg Thiel would be released from custody. “But there is no reason to do so,” said the broadcaster, referring to the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court. The WDR is legally obliged to demand radio contributions that are in arrears. To evade the obligation to pay contributions is particularly not fair to all those who pay the license fee.
Perhaps the intransigence of the WDR can also be seen in the context of the current debate about the radio license fee: Since Saxony-Anhalt blocked the increase of 86 cents, it has been led even tougher. The Thiel case seems to have become a kind of exhibition match in which neither side wants to buckle. The only problem is: Now the attention is focused on an individual case that was jazzed up into a scandal – instead of the points that would actually be debatable. Keyword encrusted structures. Overpriced sports rights. Shallow entertainment, savings in the cultural program.
The coercive detention, in which Georg Thiel is still in, may last a maximum of six months. That means he will be released by the end of August at the latest. According to WDR, the prison costs must be borne by the debtor, Thiel. If that doesn’t happen, the broadcaster has to pay in advance. But he could demand the money back from the debtor. The matter is far from over. An expensive proposition for both parties.