LRT initiates internal investigation into Samoškaitė's alleged duty violation

Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT has launched an internal investigation into journalist Eglė Samoškaitė concerning a potential breach of professional duties. The decision comes after a voice recording device, disguised as a pen, was found at a closed-door meeting of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) council.

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The decision was made after it became known that a black writing instrument, which has an integrated audio recording device, belonging to the journalist was found during a meeting of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) council.

Although the prosecutor's office decided to discontinue its preliminary investigation, citing a lack of objective data confirming Samoškaitė's intent to illegally record the meeting, LRT is proceeding with its own inquiry. According to LRT, ethical journalism standards require information gathering to be ethical and legal, with conversations typically recorded only with the explicit knowledge and consent of the participants.

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According to the prosecutor's office, during the preliminary investigation, all possibilities were exhausted, but no objective data was obtained confirming the journalist's intent to record the closed LSDP council meeting with the audio recording device, i.e., to collect information about the political party.

Mindaugas Jackevičius, Samoškaitė's supervisor and head of news portal lrt.lt, confirmed that she had not sought his permission for any secret recordings, nor had he authorized such actions. As a result of the ongoing disciplinary investigation, Samoškaitė will temporarily cease reporting on topics related to the Social Democrats and will not host the program "Dienos temos."

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According to LRT, according to the Code of Ethics for Information Dissemination, any information gathering must be ethical, legal, and conversations are recorded only with the interlocutor's knowledge and clear self-introduction.

LRT maintains that journalism, particularly investigative reporting, plays a vital role in informing the public. While the public interest, source protection, and the right to gather information are fundamental to a democratic society, LRT emphasizes that these must be exercised responsibly and in accordance with legal and ethical norms. The party had initially reported the incident to the police, suspecting the device belonged to a journalist, leading to the initial investigation.

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Journalist's supervisor M. Jackevičius confirmed that E. Samoškaitė did not contact him for such permission, and he himself did not give instructions for secret recording.