LRT restricts journalist Eglė Samoškaitė to non-political reporting

Lithuania’s national radio and television broadcaster LRT has completed an internal investigation into journalist Eglė Samoškaitė and decided that she will no longer cover political topics, LRT said in a statement sent to BNS.

LRT said the investigation, launched in August over a possible breach of work duties, had been completed and a decision made. The broadcaster said it could not disclose the details because of personal data protection and other legal requirements.

The investigation commission recommended that LRT’s news portal management assess potential risks related to Samoškaitė’s conflicts of interest and impartiality. Following that assessment, it was decided that she would write about non-political subjects.

The investigation was initiated after prosecutors determined that a recording pen found at an April meeting of the council of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party belonged to Samoškaitė. She has acknowledged that the pen was hers but denies leaving the device at the meeting.

LRT said the commission also recommended strengthening internal controls over the use of personal recording devices. It further recommended that the Editorial Policy Oversight Commission consider clarifying the rules governing the possession, registration and use of recording equipment in journalistic work.

The oversight commission is organising a general meeting of LRT creative employees, where decisions on amendments to the editorial policy will be made.

BNS reported that an investigation into the pen was discontinued in early August, but a senior prosecutor decided several days later to reopen it.