Speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, Seimas, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen has proposed fines for insulting journalists as she has drafted and registered amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses.
If adopted, the amendments would make it possible to impose fines ranging between 50 and 300 euros if a journalist is humiliated in a written form, verbally, through gestures, or insulting, insolent, provocative or other behaviour.
According to the Seimas speaker, journalists’ professional organisations regularly raise the issue of cases when journalists face insults and degrading behaviour when legally gathering information, which hinders the performance of their professional functions.
“This is particularly common in times of difficult social, economic or political events, when journalists, while covering important events in public places and legally gathering information, are subjected to insults, threats and other unlawful acts that interfere with their professional activities,” the bill reads.
Currently, the Code of Administrative Offenses does not provide for any liability for insulting journalists. Meanwhile, insulting state officials, civil servants, soldiers carries punishment.
According to Čmilytė-Nielsen, attacks on journalists’ honour and dignity is usually qualified as a minor breach of public order.
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