Lithuanian watchdog probes Polish publication over alleged hate incitement

Lithuania’s Office of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics has opened an investigation into possible disinformation and incitement of ethnic hatred in the Polish-language weekly Tygodnik Wilenszczyzny, LRT reported Wednesday.

The investigation followed an appeal from LRT Radio. The publication, which is issued in Lithuania, reportedly states that in 1920 General Lucjan Żeligowski “liberated Vilnius from the Lithuanians.”

“When we receive a report that there may be signs of a violation related to disinformation or hate speech, the office launches an investigation on its own initiative. We assess its scope and whether it falls within the boundaries of opinion or complies with the law,” Dainius Radzevičius, the inspector of journalist ethics, told LRT Radio.

“When violations are established, we usually demand that the content be removed. Hate speech can also become a matter for criminal prosecution, but that is decided by the prosecutor’s office and law enforcement institutions,” he added.

In October 1920, just days after the Suwałki Agreement assigned Vilnius to Lithuania, Żeligowski’s forces seized the city. Poland’s authorities initially tried to portray the action as a revolt, but Józef Piłsudski, the leader of interwar Poland, later acknowledged that it had been coordinated.

After losing its historic capital, Vilnius, Lithuania refused to establish diplomatic relations with Poland for almost the entire interwar period.