On Friday, the District Court of the city of Vilnius annulled the decisions of the ethics controller of the national broadcaster LRT and the LRT Council regarding the alleged ethical violations committed by the journalist Virginijaus Savukynas,
The court found that by deciding that V. Savukynas violated the LRT code of ethics and recommending him to remove the post criticizing the Minister of Justice, Ewelina Dobrowolska, the ethics controller exceeded her authority.
According to the court, "the disputed decision of the LRT ethics controller contradicts the norms of imperative law, which forbid limiting the right of a person to publicly criticize the actions of a public official."
V. Savukynas, who produced the show LRT under the contract, appealed to the court last March 7 the decision made by LRT ethics controller Daina Elena Andrikienė, that he violated the prohibition of expressing personal opinion on a social network account established in the code of ethics, emphasizing (by singling out, supporting, endorsing) the point of view of one entity on a relevant issue of public interest.
This was the verdict of the ethics controller in a post published on the journalist's personal Facebook account: "The Minister of Justice initiated a disciplinary case against Ignas Vēgēles because he raised questions. They may like it, they may not like it, but this right is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania. I think this is one of the most terrible steps taken against freedom. As in Putin's ruzzi, the aim is to silence people who don't like it. I don't think that this minister has a place in the Government."
When requesting the rejection of V. Savukyn's complaint, LRT stated that the Code of Ethics for Journalists is an internal legal act, and the decisions of the Ethics Controller and the Council regarding its violations are basically of a moral nature, as a result of which no sanctions were imposed on the journalist, and the decisions are only of a recommendatory nature.
As a result, LRT requested the termination of the civil case, the district court of Vilnius City granted this request.
Representatives of the national broadcaster promised to provide a comment on the court decision later.
