Ethics watchdog finds Žemaitaitis violated politicians’ code of conduct

Remigijus Žemaitaitis, leader of the “Nemuno aušros” party, violated the principles of respect for individuals, the state, decency, and exemplarity, the Seimas Ethics and Procedures Commission concluded on Wednesday, LRT reports.

In late April, Žemaitaitis shared a manipulated photo from a protest in Vilnius Cathedral Square titled “Hands off free speech.” The image depicted a young woman holding a sign with an offensive phrase directed at the politician. Žemaitaitis commented that it was a “celebration of phallic worship” and that “the phallus is a synonym for free speech!”

News portals later revealed that the photo was altered—the original sign read, “Accountability still on the way?”

Commission member Dalia Asanavičiūtė-Gružauskienė stated that Žemaitaitis’ actions provided grounds to argue that he had grossly violated the Constitution and broken his oath as a Seimas member. She noted that he had publicly disseminated not only indecent but also false information, and that his posts insulted the woman and constituted gender-based discrimination.

Asanavičiūtė-Gružauskienė proposed that the Seimas establish a special investigation commission and initiate impeachment proceedings. However, this required support from at least nine commission members. Only three supported the proposal, five opposed it, and three abstained.

Žemaitaitis told the commission he was neither the author nor the original distributor of the photo and had not intended to mislead the public or incite hatred against an individual. He argued that his statement was a political commentary and that his actions should not be considered discrimination or gender-based insults, as the criticism was tied to a specific public action.

A prosecutorial investigation into the incident was launched in May. Žemaitaitis has frequently been under scrutiny by the Ethics and Procedures Commission for his conduct.