Lithuania: Parliament proposal to fine insults against journalists sets protective precedent
Early August 2024, the Lithuanian Parliament proposed amendments to introduce fines for people who insult or humiliate journalists. This legislative project aims to protect journalists from abusive behaviours and ensure their ability to freely exercise their professional duty of delivering information to the public. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes this initiative and calls for all European countries to implement similar measures in line with the Council of Europe Recommendation 2016/4 on the protection of journalism and safety of journalists.
The Lithuanian proposal, prepared by Speaker of the Seimas Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, suggests amendments to the Code of Administrative Misdemeanors. If enacted, these provisions would impose fines ranging from 50 to 300 euros for acts of humiliation against journalists, including written, verbal and gestural insults. Those behaviors, currently considered as “minor violation of public order”, are punishable when targeted to the honor and dignity of state politicians, officials or intelligence officers. The proposal argues that expanding the sanctions for insulting journalists would uphold media freedom and safeguard the public’s right to be informed.
In recent years, Lithuanian journalists have faced growing attacks when collecting information. “This becomes a particularly common phenomenon during complex social, economic or political events, when journalists, while recording important events in public places and gathering information by legal means, receive insults, threats and other illegal actions that hinder their professional activities,” reads the project’s explanatory note.
In Lithuania, the freedoms and rights of journalists are guaranteed by at least several laws. However, real life shows that aggressive behavior and even insults are still used against journalists. Therefore, the initiative of the Speaker of the Seimas to punish such activities is, I hope, the best preventive measure”, said Dainius Radzevičius, President of the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union (LZS).
The Council of Europe’s Recommendation 2016/4 on the protection of journalism and safety of journalists, adopted eight years ago, advocates for the implementation of effective sanctions against those who threaten and insult journalists. Since the adoption of the Recommendation, only a few steps have been taken towards better safeguards for journalists’ safety. The Lithuanian example can and should serve as a model for other European countries to follow, even if not adopted.
“Lithuania is setting an opportune precedent with this legislative proposal. We congratulate the Lithuanian Parliament and encourage other European countries to take similar initiatives and even more advanced actions, based on their commitments under the Council of Europe Recommendation 2016/4,” said EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez. “Just as certain holders of an official public office benefit from increased legal protection, it is entirely healthy and normal that journalists, as defenders of the public interest, should also benefit from increased legal protection,” he added.
