Police launch preliminary probe after recording device found in Lithuanian Social Democrat meeting

Vilnius district police have begun gathering evidence following a complaint by Lithuania’s Social Democratic Party (LSDP) about an unauthorised recording device discovered during a closed party council meeting, LRT reports.

The device, described as a voice-recording pen, was found in the meeting room of a Vilnius-district hotel on Thursday. Police confirmed they are collecting material under Article 295 of the Criminal Code, which criminalises the unauthorised installation or use of technical equipment to gather information about state institutions, political organisations, or individuals. Penalties under the article range from fines to imprisonment for up to four years.

The LSDP filed a formal complaint alleging illegal information gathering, naming Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) journalist Eglė Samoškaitė as the suspected owner of the device. Samoškaitė has denied the accusations. Over the weekend, she announced she would suspend her membership in the Journalists’ Professional Association (ŽPA) pending the investigation and step back from LRT’s journalist protest initiative group.

The ŽPA has urged Samoškaitė to take legal action against defamation if the allegations prove false. The LSDP meeting, held behind closed doors with a ban on phones, focused on the party’s coalition work with the Nemuno aušra political group, led by Remigius Žemaitaitis.