Lithuanian paper fined for publishing anti-Semitic article

Lithuania’s leading national daily newspaper "Respublika" has been fined the equivalent of US$ 1,000 for publishing an anti-Semitic article. The decision of a court in the capital Vilnius is seen as a major victory for the local Jewish community, which took the influential newspaper owner to court. The court found Vitas Tomkus, owner of "Respublika", guilty of inciting ethnic and religious hatred for publishing an article last year that carried the headline “Who Rules the World” and featured a picture of a Jew holding a globe. Simonas Alperavicius, leader of Lithuania’s 5,000-strong Jewish community, said the article was the “worst attack on the Jewish community since Lithuania’s independence” from the Soviet Union 15 years ago. Tomkus, who declined to apologize to the Jewish community and did not attend the court hearing, said he would appeal the ruling.