Syrian Coalition Renounces Hungarian Court Decision to Acquit Camerawoman who Assaulted Refugees

Press release

Syrian Coalition

Department of Media and Communications

November 1, 2018

The Syrian Coalition renounces the decision by Hungary’s highest court to acquit a camerawoman who ho was filmed tripping and kicking Syrian refugees in 2015.

Despite the court's assertion that the camerawoman Petra Laszlo committed disorderly conduct, it left her without conviction or punishment, which risks encouraging racist behavior against refugees.

The court must have handed out a punishment and acknowledged that there was an offense against refugees, including children. It should not have let this act to go without punishment as the act violated the Geneva Convention and the rules of treatment of refugees according to international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This acquittal must be condemned by the Hungarian State and human rights groups as it represented a justification for the assault on refugees. Hungary’s highest court must bear the consequences of its decision and the potential risks of further racist attacks on refugees.

Petra Laszlo caused global outrage in September 2015 when she was captured on camera knocking over a Syrian man who was running with a child in his arms, before kicking another running child near the Hungary-Serbia border.