Case over fight on Jūrmala’s Jomas Street sent to prosecutors

Latvia’s State Police have finished investigating a fight on Jomas Street in Jūrmala on 30 May and on 6 November referred it to the Pierīga regional prosecutor’s office for prosecution, the police said on Friday, 13 November.

A man was injured in the fight on the pedestrian main street of the seaside resort near Riga. Officers from the Jūrmala police station detained a young man born in 2006 the same day and opened criminal proceedings.

What the investigation found

Police said the confrontation broke out spontaneously after personal insults escalated into a physical fight. The detained man had not previously come to the attention of the police.

He was initially placed under police supervision and barred from leaving the country. That was later changed to an order to stay at a specified address, with the travel ban kept in place.

The charge

The case was opened under Section 125(1) of the Criminal Law, which covers intentional grievous bodily harm. After establishing the circumstances, police reclassified it under Section 231(2): hooliganism involving bodily harm to the victim.

The offence carries a prison sentence of up to five years, short-term imprisonment, probation supervision, community service or a fine. Prosecutors will now decide whether to bring charges. No one is considered guilty until proven so in accordance with the law.