Five members of the committee voted in favour of this decision.
„In 2025, Member of Parliament Žemaitaitis posted more than 50 entries related to LRT on his Facebook account. In some of them, the words ‘fondačiulpys’ (‘fondasosas’), ‘chatūrščikas,’ and others were used several times,“ the parliamentary commission stated.
„Remigijus Žemaitaitis, a member of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, by periodically posting content on the social network Facebook that was disparaging and demeaning toward LRT, violated the principle of respect for the individual and the state established in Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the Code of Conduct for State Politicians,“ states the conclusion adopted on Wednesday.
In his own explanation to the commission, Žemaitaitis stated that his public statements regarding LRT were intended for public discussion in a democratic society. They were reportedly related to the public broadcaster’s activities, funding, accountability, and issues of political neutrality. According to the Member of Parliament, these statements were neither coordinated nor systematic, nor deliberately aimed at discrediting the institution or specific individuals.
For its part, the commission emphasised that it agrees that members of the Seimas have the right to reasonably criticise state institutions and their activities, and have a duty to exercise parliamentary oversight of these institutions; however, these rights and duties must be exercised in accordance with the principles of conduct outlined in the Code of Conduct for State Politicians.
It was decided to recommend that Žemaitaitis express his views more responsibly and behave appropriately in the future, avoid words and phrases that could be understood as offensive, demeaning, or disparaging, and align his statements with the principles and requirements of conduct for state politicians outlined in the Code of Conduct for State Politicians and the Statute of the Seimas.
In conducting its investigation, the commission also found that on December 7, 2025, Member of the Seimas Žemaitaitis publicly disclosed the personal data of a private individual—their first name, last name, and phone number—without that person’s consent. It was decided to refer this part of the complaint to the State Data Protection Inspectorate (VDAI) for review.
ELTA notes that Žemaitaitis most recently received an unfavourable decision from the Seimas Ethics Committee regarding his statements about LRT at the end of February. It was determined at that time that the leader of Nemuno Aušra, who had publicly stated last year that the State Audit Office, which had conducted an audit of LRT, had allegedly uncovered serious violations, had breached the Code of Conduct for Politicians.