Lithuanian foreign minister suggests dropping criminal liability for slander

"States should also take all necessary measures to improve working conditions for journalists, aim at high level of access to information and protection of confidential sources of media information and abolition of criminal liability for slander," Ažubalis said in a press release circulated on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on Thursday.

In his words, digital media has allowed unprecedented opportunities for free press and access to information, although free press continues to be undermined by the threat of violence against journalists. Some 43 journalists were killed across the globe this year, many suffer from attacks aimed at restricting their capabilities to provide information that is vital for functioning democracy.

Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, called upon Lithuanian authorities last autumn to decriminalize defamation.

She publicly expressed concern over the criminal defamation trial of Dainius Radzevičius, Chairman of the Lithuanian Union of Journalists.

Some Lithuanian law experts say that disputes of insult and slander should be settled in line with civil procedures, adding that additional criminal proceedings, inclusion of law-enforcement institutions that already have extensive work load and additional strict criminal sanctions against respondents is irrational.

Furthermore, there have been warnings that criminal proceedings could become a tool of pressure and revenge against opponents.

According to the Criminal Process, a person spreading misleading information that could humiliate or defame another individual or undermine trust in the individual is liable to be fined, have his or her freedom restricted or be sentenced up to one year in prison.