Latvia Seems To Have More Respect For Tradition Than Canada

Remember our response to a similar incident in Ottawa........

Briton jailed for urinating on Latvian monument

Tue Feb 19, 2008 12:39pm EST

RIGA (Reuters) - A British man was sentenced to five days' detention on Tuesday for urinating on one of Latvia's most treasured monuments.

A court official said the Briton, who denied the charges, would serve his detention in a police cell after being found guilty of urinating on the Freedom Monument.

Erected in 1935, this is a 42-meter (138 ft) high symbol of the Baltic state's resistance to foreign rule, which has included 50 years of Soviet occupation.

People detained for acts of disrespect in the past have been fined. One man wearing a kilt uncovered his genitals at the monument last year.

(Reporting by Patrick Lannin; editing by Robert Woodward)

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