In Riga, a man beat a boy with a Ukrainian flag,/Channel 24 collage
In Riga, a man beat a 19-year-old with a Ukrainian flag
The incident took place on May 20, Friday evening. A 19-year-old boy was returning from the rally “For Liberation from the Soviet Legacy” with a blue and yellow Ukrainian flag thrown over his shoulders.
He was seen by a car driver nearby. He got out of the car and beat the young man, after which he fled the scene of his crime.
Law enforcement officers from the police of the Latvian capital opened criminal proceedings and quickly carried out operational-search activities. They were able to identify the 38-year-old man and his car. By the way, he had already come to the attention of the police before.
The attacker was detained
The attacker's car was found in one of the courtyards of private houses, but it had a different license plate. Perhaps he was trying to hide his whereabouts. Around 2:00 a.m., police and special squad officers detained the suspect at his home. He was hiding behind a chimney in the attic.
Currently, the man is in a temporary detention center. He is charged under article 231 of the Criminal Law on hooliganism associated with causing bodily harm. In the near future he will be informed about the chosen measure of restraint. Of the options provided by law for such a violation:
- imprisonment for up to 5 years,
- or short-term imprisonment, as well as police supervision, community service or a fine.
In addition, during the investigation, law enforcement officers also evaluate factors that may increase the guilt of the suspect, and also find out whether his criminal actions are connected with inciting national, ethnic or social hatred.
What is known about the action “For Liberation from legacy” in Riga
- The action “For liberation from the Soviet legacy” was held in the capital of Latvia on 20 May. About 5,000 people took part in it.
- People took to the streets with Latvian flags, but several Ukrainian flags were also expected to be flying there. The participants of the march held posters “Stop rashism” and “Latvian rules on Latvian soil”.
- The reason for organizing such a procession was the discussion about the dismantling of the monument to Soviet “liberators” in Riga. However, this is not all the activists demand. Now they are talking about the demolition of all Soviet monuments and the renaming of all streets associated with Soviet figures.
- Those who do not support such actions are offered to be banned from running for elections and even deprived of citizenship and deported from the country.
- According to the police, in general, the event was peaceful, but there were some incidents – several people were detained. In particular, one of the detainees lay down on the road in front of the column to interfere with the march, another showed obscene gestures and shouted slogans at the marchers, and the other showed a phone screen with the image of the Russian tricolor from the window of the public transport in which he was passing.
