A British judge is calling for an investigation of mistakes by London police that allowed a man to repeatedly beat and rape a 17-year-old girl from Latvia, according to media reports in the United Kingdom.

Judge Martin Reynolds of Snaresbrook Crown Court on May 23 sentenced Agrol Xhabri, a 22-year-old illegal immigrant from Albania, to 12 years in prison for abducting the girl from her London home, forcing her to work as a prostitute, beating her and raping her at least 30 times, according to The Evening Standard and The Guardian newspapers.

The girl, who had been living with her father, was taken from her home late last year. She escaped once in October and called police, but no help came. In November, she managed to call her mother in Latvia, who called her father in London, who then called police. But when police arrived at a location in East London to rescue girl, they hesitated. While they stalled, Xhabri reportedly beat and raped the girl again.

Xhabri, according to his sentence, is to be deported to Albania after he serves his time in prison.

Next year’s Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Greece after performer Helena Paparizou won first place in the 50th anniversary contest. Latvia’s young male duo Valters un Kaža (Valters Frīdenbergs and Kārlis Būmeisters) managed a respectable showing, placing fifth overall.

The annual contest, which showcases popular songwriting and performances from across Europe, was held this year in Kiev, Ukraine.

A total of 24 countries were represented in the May 21 finals, but voting took place in a total of 39 nations, including Turkey and Israel. Greece earned 230 points, followed by Malta with 192, Romania with 158, Israel with 154 and Latvia with 153.

Valters un Kaža performed the song “The War Is Not Over,” penned by Mārtiņš Freimanis, lead singer of the group Tumsa. As country-by-country results were announced from Kiev, Latvia at one point even found itself in first place.

Paparizou, born to Greek parents, grew up in Sweden. She previously represented Greece in the 2001 song contest as a member of the group Antique, which won third place that year.

Latvia’s Marija Naumova won the contest in 2002, which led to Rīga hosting the competition in 2003.

The U.S. Senate has adopted a resolution calling on Russia to issue “a clear and unambiguous statement” admitting and condemning the Soviet Union’s 50-year occupation of the Baltic countries.

The resolution was introduced May 19 by Sen. Gordon H. Smith (R-Ore.) and adopted the same day by unanimous consent. It replaced a similar resolution, introduced by Smith one week earlier, that had been referred to the Senate’s Committee on Foreign Relations.

Smith is co-chair of the Senate’s Baltic Freedom Caucus. The resolution was co-sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), who is the other Baltic caucus co-chair.

A version of the resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives on April 12, but has seen no action since it was referred to the Committee on International Relations.

The Senate resolution notes that the Russian government has not acknowledged the illegal annexation and occupation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Doing so, the resolution suggests, would improve relations between the Baltics and Russia and would “strengthen stability in the region.”

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied that the Soviet Union occupied the Baltic countries, arguing that a state of war did not exist between the U.S.S.R. and the Baltics and that Soviet troops were invited into Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in 1940.

The Senate on May 19 also adopted a resolution, sponsored by Durbin, that expresses its continued support for construction of a Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington, D.C. Construction of the memorial is expected to begin this fall. The memorial could be dedicated in late summer or early fall of 2006, according to the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.