German reporter released by Venezuela returns home

A German reporter held by Venezuelan authorities for four months flew back home Sunday after being conditionally released, a Venezuelan NGO has said.

Billy Six (32) "is in the air right now, flying from Caracas," Carlos Correa, head of the Espacio Publico non-governmental group that defends free speech, told AFP.

The organisation published a photo on Twitter showing the German in a plane making the sign of a "V" for victory with his fingers.

Arrests of media employees have increased in recent months as President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido duel over who is the legitimate president of the economically-devastated stricken country.

Six was arrested in northern Falcon state on November 17 for allegedly photographing Maduro at a proximity deemed too close by the leader's minders.

After being held for four months by the Venezuelan intelligence service -- during which he staged a brief hunger strike -- he was released on Friday with orders to report to court every two weeks, Espacio Publico said.

But Correa said that, as he had no specific ban on leaving the country, Six "considered it best" to return to Germany.

"We were able to speak to him," said Correa. "He is doing well. He is in good spirits." Six had complained earlier in a letter that he was being refused a chance to defend himself and that he had been denied the results of medical tests conducted after he contracted dengue fever.

His case, at first taken up by a military tribunal, was later transferred to a civil court in Caracas.

The freelance reporter had been in Venezuela to investigate drug trafficking, smuggling and human trafficking -- and the exodus of Venezuelans forced to migrate due to the economic crisis.

Espacio Publico and journalists' associations in Venezuela accuse Maduro's government of systematically limiting access and movements of journalists.

About 50 arrests of journalists have been recorded by Espacio Publico this year in Venezuela.

Guaido, head of the opposition-controlled legislature, declared himself interim president at a public rally on January 23, saying that an election widely viewed as a sham last year meant Maduro was a "usurper." The opposition leader is backed by more than 50 countries, including Germany and the United States.

On March 7, Maduro's government expelled the German ambassador, accusing him of "meddling" in domestic affairs.