Fire damages Kauno diena newspaper sign in Kaunas

A fire damaged the sign outside the Kauno diena newspaper’s office in central Kaunas on Tuesday evening, LRT reported. Police have not identified any suspects or brought charges, Kaunas County Police spokeswoman Gintarė Žilinskytė told BNS.

Police said the burning sign was spotted on the facade of a building on K. Donelaičio Street at about 11.20pm. The fire left the wall blackened and the sign scorched. Police suspect arson and are assessing the damage.

A pre-trial investigation has been opened into the destruction or damage of property in a manner dangerous to the public. The investigation is being led by Kaunas District Prosecutor Renata Oželienė.

Kauno diena editor-in-chief Arūnas Andriuškevičius told BNS that the newsroom had “various suspicions” about the incident but could not accuse anyone in particular. He said the newspaper’s reporting on wrongdoing had led to resistance, but this was the first attack of this kind. The newsroom hopes investigators will establish what happened, he said.

Kauno diena has been published since 1945 and is distributed across Lithuania. It also runs a news website. According to Sodra data, the company that owns the media outlet, Diena Media News, has 66 employees.