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Camerawoman Who Tripped Refugees Charged in Hungary
Posted On Sep 08 2016
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Hungarian camerawoman Petra Laszlo has been charged with a “breach of peace” for kicking and attempting to trip migrants on the Serbian border past year.
It later emerged that Laszlo, who was sacked over her actions, had been working for N1TV, an internet-based television station close to Hungary’s far-right, Islamophobic and xenophobic Jobbik Party. She was also accused at the time of tripping a father carrying his young son, though prosecutors say that closer examination of the film of the incident shows the man fell after losing his balance while running away from police.
“The accused stood right behind the police line surrounding the migrants when the break-out happened and she stayed there even after a group of migrants broke into a sprint next to her”.
The video footage of the incident – along with another clip showing a man carrying a child fall after Laszlo appears to trip hi – caused outrage after they spread online.
Laszlo was not immediately reachable for comment following the announcement of her pending prosecution, according to Reuters.
She said: “I am practically in shock from what I did, and what was done to me”.
The migrant man with the small child was later identified as Osama Abdul Mohsen.
The camerawoman later told Russian newspaper Izvestia that her life was “ruined” and she was considering moving to Russia.
Now, the disgraced camerawoman will have to face legal consequences – because on Wednesday, Hungarian prosecutors pressed charges against her for disorderly conduct!
Prosecutors described how hundreds of migrants broke through a police cordon and out of a holding area and headed toward Szeged, a nearby city in September previous year.
“The violent actions of the accused did not inflict injury, however her behavior was capable of provoking indignation and outcry in the members of the public present at the scenes”, he added, and said there was no evidence that the actions were “motivated by ethnic considerations or by the migrant status of the victims”.
