Lithuanian police launch pre-trial investigation into hidden recording device found at Social Democrat meeting

Lithuanian police have opened a pre-trial investigation after a covert recording device was discovered during a closed meeting of the Social Democratic Party’s council, public broadcaster LRT reports.

The Vilnius District Police confirmed the probe on Tuesday, acting on a complaint filed by the party. The case is being examined under Article 295 of the Criminal Code, which prohibits the unauthorised installation or use of technical devices to gather information.

Prosecutor Gintarė Vitkauskaitė-Šatkauskienė told ELTA that the article covers offences involving illegal surveillance of state or municipal institutions, political organisations, or private individuals. Penalties under the law range from fines to imprisonment for up to four years.

The investigation is overseen by Stanislavas Barsulis, a prosecutor specialising in organised crime and corruption at the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office. Barsulis declined to confirm details directly to ELTA, stating he had been instructed to route inquiries through the prosecutor’s office communications department.

The device was found on Thursday during a closed session of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) council at a hotel in Vilnius District. Party officials reported the discovery to police the following day, alleging the device may have been planted by Eglė Samoškaitė, a journalist with Lithuania’s national broadcaster LRT.

Samoškaitė has denied the allegations. Over the weekend, she announced she would temporarily suspend her membership in the Lithuanian Journalists’ Professional Association pending the outcome of the investigation. The association has urged her to take legal action against defamation if the claims prove false.

Samoškaitė has also stepped back from her role in an LRT journalists’ protest initiative group. While group members expressed concern over the accusations, they stated they currently saw no reason to distrust her.

The LSDP meeting was held behind closed doors, with attendees prohibited from bringing mobile phones. Discussions reportedly focused on the party’s coalition work with the “Nemuno aušra” political group, led by Remigijus Žemaitaitis.