IGA, Latvia (AP) - A 16-year-old-girl who
slapped Prince Charles in the face with a red
carnation was formally charged Friday with
endangering the life of a high official.
Alina Lebedeva struck the prince with the
long-stemmed flower Thursday as he stopped
during a walk in downtown Riga to speak
with a group of children. ``I'm against the Afghan war,'' she said in
Russian to reporters as police took her away.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, but the
girl is likely to face only probation if convicted because of her age,
police spokeswoman Kristina Apse said. She was in police custody in
Riga, the capital.
A spokesman at St. James Palace, Prince Charles' London office, called
it ``an unfortunate but trivial incident which did not affect the Prince
of Wales.''
Prince Charles had stopped to talk with children waving British flags
when the thin, red-haired teen-ager, appearing calm, leaned over and
struck him. The girl turned and walked slowly away, saying, ``Britain's
the enemy of the world,'' as armed guards grabbed her and escorted
her to a police van.
The heir to the British throne flinched and looked startled but
continued chatting with some of the several hundred people who
turned out to see him.
President Vaira Vike-Freiberga later apologized on behalf of the
country.
Prince Charles began a tour of the region Monday to mark Britain's
recognition of Baltic independence from the Soviet Union a decade
ago. He came to Latvia after stops in Estonia and Lithuania and was
scheduled to leave the region later Friday.
===== "The tradition of all the dead generations
weighs like a nightmare on the brain of the living"
-Karl Marx
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