Riga police detain four members of a skinhead group, three of them minors

Latvia's State Police have detained a skinhead group in Riga whose members include children, the police said on Tuesday. Four people were detained in total — three minors and one adult.

The group is suspected of violence against people without a fixed home and of deliberately setting fire to other people's property. On 29 October criminal police from the Riga regional department, together with the State Security Service (VDD), searched several homes, where they found skinhead symbols.

The charges

The criminal case was opened on 26 January. It covers inciting social hatred linked to bodily harm caused by a group, destroying or damaging property by arson, and distributing pornographic material involving minors, under sections of Latvia's Criminal Law.

The three minors have been named as suspects and given a non-custodial security measure. Two members of the group were under 14 when the offences were committed; a decision on whether to send their case to court for compulsory educational measures will be taken later. The investigation is continuing, and police gave no further details.

Police urged parents to watch for changes in their children's behaviour.