Outrage Over Proposed Media Law Draws Thousands in Lithuania
A protest against politicians trying to restrict media freedom at the Parliament Palace in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Dec.9.
Photographer: Mindaugas Kulbis/AP PhotoThousands gathered in Lithuania’s capital to protest legislation they say will raise political pressure on public media and align the Baltic nation with eastern European countries that have tightened controls on free speech.
As many as 10,000 people gathered outside the national parliament in central Vilnius on Tuesday, according to a police estimate reported by Baltic News Service. Critics have assailed the legislation, which would ease dismissal rules for the director of public broadcaster LRT, as an attempt to wrest political control over public television and radio.