"Don't touch our flag!"

The Latvian police asked judges to prosecute two Spanish and two Portuguese citizens accused of desecrating the Latvian flag, officials confirmed in May.

The incident dates to May 16th, when seven tourists reportedly tore down and stamped on a Latvian flag in Riga, security police spokeswoman Kristine Apse-Krumina told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Police subsequently detained the two Spaniards and five Portuguese on a bridge. Local media reported that they were carrying several Latvian flags, and that more were floating in the river, having apparently been jettisoned when the group saw the police.

The seven said that they had not intended to insult the Latvian flag, but had merely wanted to take souvenirs home, the Leta news agency reported. An initial investigation of the incident concluded that three of the seven had not been involved in the flag-stealing.

Baltic Times reported:

Police in Riga have detained seven foreigners, Spanish and Portuguese nationals, for damaging Latvia's national flag, a police representative said. Police spokesman Aigars Berzins said the foreigners were trampling on the Latvian flag in the Old City and were held later in Pardaugava on the left bank of the Daugava River, not far from a suspension bridge. The men were visibly drunk, and officers found more damaged Latvian flags on them, but the vandals had managed to throw some of the flags in the river. The young men have been taken to a police station, and are facing criminal prosecution for desecrating a national symbol. Two of the detained are Spanish nationals, aged 25 and 24, while five are Portuguese, aged 25 to 36. If found guilty they may face up to three-year jail terms, community work or fines of up to 50 minimum wages.

Under Latvia's criminal code, the maximum penalty for such an offence is up to 3 years in jail or a fine of up to 6,000 lats (8,537 euro, 11,494 dollars).

Latvia has seen a boom in tourism since it joined the EU in 2004. However, its reputation for cheap alcohol and beautiful women has made it a favourite destination for all-male groups whose behaviour has in some cases caused great offence. In the most outstanding incident, a British tourist was prosecuted last November for urinating on the national Freedom Monument on Remembrance Day.

The British embassy in Riga launched a campaign this spring to urge travellers to behave responsibly. Other embassies are studying the campaign with a view to possibly taking similar action.