Large swastikas were spray-painted on more than 100 gravestones in a Jewish cemetery in Latvia, local police reported.

The swastikas apparently were painted in white spray paint overnight Tuesday at the New Jewish Cemetery in the capital Riga. A cemetery guard made the discovery the next morning, according to reports.





White swastikas in Riga cemetery (Photo: Reuters)

Local police have launched an investigation into the incident.

Riga Mayor Nils Ušakovs, who is visiting Russia, condemned the act. His deputy arrived at the cemetery shortly after the discovery of the swastikas was reported.

The same cemetery was desecrated in September of 2003 by five teenagers, who were sentenced to prison terms ranging from six months to three years.

Before World War Two the Jewish community in Latvia numbered some 85,000 people, but 70,000 of them were killed in Nazi death camps. Today there are less than 10,000 Jews in the country.