Lithuania called for decriminalisation of defamation in the OSCE region
On 1 August in Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Human Dimension Committee in Vienna, Lithuania made a voluntary reporting on the implementation of OSCE commitments in the area of freedom of expression, presented by Mr. Dainius Radzevicius, Head of Journalists’ association in Lithuania and Member of the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania. The topic of the presentation – the decriminalization of defamation and fighting the dissemination of propaganda in the context of Russian aggression against of Ukraine.
In his report, Mr. Radzevičius presented the decriminalization process of insult and defamation in Lithuania, as well as characteristics of the private prosecution cases dealing with insults or defamation. He emphasized the need to decriminalize insult and defamation in the OSCE region and underlined the negative impact of these criminal cases on freedom of speech and media freedoms.
According to D. Radzevičius, dissemination of propaganda and hate speech is the biggest threat to freedom of expression and democracy in these days, especially in the context of the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine. It does not comply with international professional standards of journalism and the media. The use of new forms of communication platforms for dissemination of propaganda and hate speech today pose a fundamental challenge to the promotion of free speech and free media. Therefore, it is important to find new international mechanisms to deal with the above-mentioned threats to freedom of expression.
On 9 July in Vienna, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović welcomed recent Parliament’s decision in Lithuania to repeal criminal laws on insults, including provisions on special protection of public figures from insult. According to D. Mijatović, Lithuania should go further in its reform ambitions and fully decriminalize defamation.
