“Vilnius’s outrageous actions show the real value of freedom of speech in this Baltic state, which seeks to position itself as an example of European democracy,” the Russian ministry noted.
The Foreign Ministry stressed that it shares the criticism of the outrageous act of police brutality on the side of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Arlem Desir.
“We demand that the Lithuanian authorities finally bring themselves to life and stop rude provocations against representatives of the Russian media who are performing their professional duty,” they said.
Qasem was detained upon arrival at Vilnius airport with the phrase “Threat to national security”.
Arlem Desir commented on the detention, calling on OSCE participating States to facilitate the movement of journalists in the region.
Chairman of the Union of Journalists of Russia Vladimir Solovyov in a conversation with RT condemned the detention of the chief editor of Sputnik Lithuania.