Court hears defamation case over claims about TV host

The Vilnius City District Court on Thursday began hearing a criminal case against comedian Artūras Orlauskas, who is accused of defaming television and radio host Algis Ramanauskas, LRT reported.

Prosecutor Renaldas Budrys read out the indictment, saying the charges relate to statements Orlauskas made about Ramanauskas during an episode of the online programme OpTV in November 2024.

According to the prosecutor, Orlauskas claimed that Ramanauskas had been dismissed from Lithuanian National Radio and Television, known as LRT, because of alcohol abuse. He also allegedly said that Ramanauskas had addictions that were becoming more frequent, disrupting the work of colleagues.

Orlauskas also allegedly claimed that Ramanauskas used to arrive late for recordings of the LRT programme Dviračio žinios, failed to learn his scripted lines and forced the entire creative team to work overtime.

Orlauskas pleaded not guilty. He said he would give evidence after the other participants in the proceedings had been questioned.

Ramanauskas, who has been recognised as the injured party in the case, told the court that he watched the OpTV programme after learning about the statements and decided to contact law enforcement because he considered them defamatory.

He said he did not remember ever failing to learn his lines for television programmes. Ramanauskas also said he had never had any addictions.

“We used to communicate well, so this is very strange to me. Artūras and I have known each other since 1996. I do not want to speculate about why he did it. I am shocked that he had to lie and defame me,” Ramanauskas said.

He told the prosecutor that he drank alcohol in moderation and that work and alcohol were incompatible for him.

Ramanauskas also said he had not been dismissed from LRT. He said his employment relationship with the company Gradientas had ended instead.

The next hearing is scheduled for September 24, when witness testimony will begin. The planned witnesses include LRT director general Monika Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė, presenter Rimantas Šapauskas and lawmaker and former prime minister Ingrida Šimonytė.