Billy Six

Billy Six (born 24 December 1986) is a German journalist, documentarian and author. He began his journalist career in local newspapers. In 2011 Six started working as war reporter for German newspaper Junge Freiheit in Egypt. Since then he has covered most conflict ridden parts of the world such as Libya,[1] Syria,[2] Lebanon,[3] and Ukraine.[4] While working for Junge Freiheit, he was arrested in Syria by the Syrian army in December 2012.[5] His release was announced by Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal Mikdad and Ambassador of Russia in Damascus in a press conference at March 2013.[6][7]

Billy Six, 2014

Early life

Billy Six was born 1986 in East Berlin. He started his career as a business administrator and member in local parliament of Neuenhagen[8] after graduating from high school 2006. He traveled to more than 70 countries.

Arrest in Venezuela

On 17 November 2018, Billy Six was arrested by the Venezuelan secret service DGCIM at an inn in Villa Marina, a beach town located in Los Taques Municipality, near Punto Fijo, and was detained in the intelligence prison of the SEBIN, "El Helicoide", in Caracas.[9]

On 18 November 2018 he was told that he should be charged with "espionage", "rebellion" and "violation of security zones" before a military court . His family rejects these allegations and say they are without foundation.

Billy Six was denied any contact with a lawyer, German Embassy or family since his detention. The German Embassy in Caracas has been trying in vain to get a visitor's permit. So far, the embassy has only confirmed the arrest of Billy orally. On a Facebook page his mother and father writes that Billy Six had become infected with dengue fever before he was imprisoned and that he is refused medicine.

Since Thursday, 13 December 2018 Billy Six had gone on a hunger strike.[10][11][12]

Reporters Without Borders has considered the allegations unproven and called for his release.[13]

On 16 March 2019 it was announced that Six was allowed to leave the country but he is subject to conditions. He must report to the authorities every 15 days and cannot talk to the media about the case.[13][14]

Publishing career

Six has written for several newspapers and various print magazines, including D Magazine, Junge Freiheit,[15] esoteric, conspiracy Magazin Raum & Zeit,[16] Globetrotter,[17] and Preußische Allgemeine.

Six had been working for around a year in Ukraine, covering the conflict and the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) incident. He was interviewed by the BBC in the documentary Conspiracy Files: Who Shot Down MH17 (May 2016).[18]

Six also covered the refugee crisis in Europe. He contributed research in the border area between Greece and Macedonia, also at Budapest main station or Freilassing border crossing into Germany. He was traveling a month with the refugees; his results were published by Junge Freiheit TV: ″The Refugee Deception″.[19]

Books

References
  1. 23. Mai 2011. "Libysches Bürgerkriegstagebuch XVII". Junge Freiheit. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  2. 18. Oktober 2012 (17 October 2012). "Sicherheit gibt es nirgends". Junge Freiheit. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  3. 30 September 2013. ""Ich hoffe, es gibt Krieg"". Junge Freiheit. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  4. 20. Februar 2015. "Die Tragödie wird fortgesetzt". Junge Freiheit. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  5. "SYRIEN: Billy, das Kind – DER SPIEGEL 11/2013". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  6. 6. März 2013. "Pressekonferenz mit JF-Reporter Billy Six". Junge Freiheit. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  7. "German journalist recalls being held in Syria". Cnsnews.com. 6 March 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  8. "Vom Straßenrand auf den Acker". MOZ.de. 19 February 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  9. Gerardo Morón Sánchez (27 November 2018). "Así fue como detuvieron al periodista alemán Billy Six en Paraguaná". Nuevo Día (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  10. "German journalist held in Venezuela". BBC News. 13 December 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  11. "Free Billy Six". facebook.com. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  12. Schuetze, Christopher F. (14 December 2018). "German Reporter Is Said to Face Espionage Charges in Venezuela". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  13. "Nach Freilassung in Venezuela: Deutscher Billy Six auf dem Weg nach Deutschland". Der Spiegel (in German). 17 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  14. "Venezuela releases German journalist Billy Six from jail". Deutsche Welle. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  15. "Suchergebnisse billy six". Junge Freiheit. 24 December 1986. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  16. "Newsletter raum&zeit". Raum-und-zeit.com. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  17. "Globetrotter Magazin – Das Reisemagazin für Weltentdecker". Globetrottermagazin.ch. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  18. "Conspiracy Files: Who shot down MH17? – BBC News". BBC. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  19. "JF-TV: Die Flüchtlingslüge (1)". 4 November 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2017 – via YouTube.
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