St. George's ribbons, alcohol, fireworks: 26 people arrested in Latvia on May 9
The State Police of Latvia detained 26 people during the May 9 celebrations, opened 38 cases of administrative offenses and four criminal cases.
This is reported by LSM, according to Ukrinform.
Interior Minister Māris Kučinskis noted that May 9 was relatively calm in Latvia. The largest flows of people to memorial sites were recorded in Salaspils and Daugavpils.
According to the police, the highest number of violations was recorded in the Riga region - 22, with 21 people detained.
The violations were mostly related to the laying of flowers, including those with prohibited symbols, in places where Soviet monuments used to be, as well as cases of using symbols of military aggression, such as St. George's ribbons, in public places. Administrative proceedings have also been initiated for disobeying the demands of police officers, being in a public place while intoxicated, and so on. There have also been detentions in connection with fireworks.
In addition, the police launched four criminal trials - two in Riga and two in Daugavpils. In one of them, two people were detained for justifying the war waged by Russia against Ukraine.
As reported earlier, on May 9, Latvia banned public events and the use of fireworks.