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November
12, 2001
RIGA, Latvia -- The girl who assaulted Britain's Prince Charles
with a bunch of carnations during his visit to Latvia last week
is to be released -- but could still face charges, police say.
Authorities said
they were responding to a plea from the prince for leniency for
student Alina Lebedeva, 16. She was facing up to 15 years' jail
if charged and found guilty of threatening the life and health
of
a foreign dignitary.
"Having evaluated all the circumstances and also taking into
account that his excellency has expressed a request through his
press people that she should be released, we have changed the
form of security applied to her from arrest to police surveillance,"
Didzis Smitins, deputy head of the security police, told Reuters.
"We
still think she has violated the 87th paragraph of the criminal
code -- assaulting a foreign dignitary" Smitins added.
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The incident came last Thursday when the heir to the British throne,
who was on a tour of Baltic states, approached a group of children
after laying a wreath at Latvia's
Freedom Monument.
Lebedva suddenly lurched at him and swung carnations at his face,
shouting in Russian a protest against the Western offensive in
Afghanistan. The prince appeared startled.
As she was led away she said: "I'm
protesting against Latvia joining NATO and I'm against the war
in Afghanistan. Britain is the enemy."
The incident drew an immediate apology from Latvian President
Vaira Vike-Freiberga, who had been with the prince at the Freedom
Monument. She was quoted by the Press Association as saying: "The
woman was clearly of ill mind. Of course I am sorry it happened
but I'm sure the prince understands she was not very well."
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Officials said Charles was unaffected by the incident.
One of her teachers, Tamara Vasilievna, told PA Alina had been
in trouble before and last year disappeared on a six-day drinking
spree in which she daubed graffiti onto public buildings.
"Alina is a very clever girl and achieves eights and nines
out of ten in all her subjects. She is a very capable girl but
Not hard-working.
She believes in communism, unfortunately. I'm at a loss to know
why she did it. It is a mystery. Her mother is such a great woman
and very talented. They are a great family."
Vasilievna added: "I want Prince Charles to understand that
the girl perhaps didn't want to harm him. She is kind and clever,
but maybe she just wanted to make A
protest."
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MB Condon | War Studies
