Britons bailed after cop beaten

RIGA - A district court in Riga ruled June 16 not to detain two British tourists held last weekend for allegedly beating up a policeman on a drunken night out in the city's Old Town. They were released them on bail of 8,000 lats (EUR 11,383) each.

The accused have already left Latvia, but they are required to pay the bail within a week, Ints Kuzis, head of the Riga Criminal Police, told the press.

The bail was applied to two of the tourists, aged 32 and 28. A third Briton was granted the status of a witness. A criminal procedure on assault against the official, causing serious injuries was initiated against the attackers. If found guilty they may be punished by 13 years in jail.

The police agreed with the supervising prosecutor that the court decision to grant bail would be appealed against. "I believe that in cases of of violence against a police officer, the suspects should be detained," Kuzis said.

If the British nationals will evade bail payment, they will be put on the European search by using the Schengen information system, thus enabling their arrest in any of the Schengen zone countries and delivering to Latvia for litigation and arrest (though the UK is not a member of the Schengen zone). If the bail is paid, it will serve as a guarantee until announcing the court decision.

Riga Municipal Police head Janis Gedusevs said that the policemen who suffered the assault is in hospital with concussion. During the attack he was in the police uniform, so there could be no doubt that the tourists were attacking an officer of the law, Gedusevs said.

The unarmed officer attempted to intervene when the actions of several Britons caused a fracas at a bar around 8.50pm last Friday night. He was set upon by several men. The attack was caught on CCTV.

One Briton was detained at the scene of the incident while two others ran away.

This is the latest and most serious of a series of public order offences committed by tourists, with Britons responsible for a disproportionately large number of crimes.