Riga - Two Irish tourists have been detained, awaiting their trial, for indecent exposure near one of Latvia's most revered monuments in the capital Riga, a Latvian court ruled Tuesday. Damien Jude McCartan, 22, and Thomas Kierman, 26, have been taken into custody Friday after McCarton allegedly exposed his buttocks while Kierman was taking picture of him by the Freedom Monument.
The trial date has not been set.
A rising number of incidents of foreign tourists wrecking havoc at the Freedom Monument that many Latvians regard as a symbol of their nationhood has angered government officials.
Foreign tourists to this Baltic country of 2.3 million, which joined the European Union in 2004, made headlines in the last two years for desecration of the 72-year-old national landmark.
In February, a British national was detained for the first time for five days for urinating at the monument.
In November 2006, a British tourist bore the largest fine of 810 lats (1,676 dollars) for urinating on the monument while his friends took pictures of him. In July 2007, another British citizen was fined 50 lats for urinating at the monument while intoxicated.
After those incidents the British embassy had launched a public awareness campaign for Britons planning to visit the Baltics, urging them to observe a code of behavior in the region.
