Hungarian TV camerawoman fired for tripping Syrian refugees

A camerawoman was caught on camera kicking refugees fleeing a camp. Photo / YouTube

A Hungarian camerawoman has been fired after being filmed deliberately tripping up a Syrian refugee carrying a child as they ran away from police near the Serbian border.

Petra Lazlo, working for local TV station N1TV, which is run by the anti-immigration far-Right Jobbik party, was caught on camera kicking refugees fleeing a camp, including a young girl.

Another cameraman captured the moment Ms Lazlo films the refugees running away from charging police officers at the border village of Roszke before sticking her leg out as a father carrying his son runs past, causing them both to fall to the ground.

The video was widely shared on social media after it was posted by German reporter Stephan Richter on Twitter, with many condemning Ms Lazlo's behaviour.

The station issued a statement on Tuesday, saying: "The N1TV colleagues today behaved unacceptably in Roszke collection point. Our working relationship with the camerawoman has ended. The case was considered closed our part."

Several hundred migrants broke through police lines at the tense main border crossing with Serbia on Tuesday.

The migrants were part of a group of 1,500 people who had been waiting for hours at a refugee collection point near the Roszke crossing, the first stop before people are brought to a registration camp.

Hungary has made frantic and confused efforts to control the huge tide of migrants transiting the country as they try to reach Germany, leaving many trapped for days outside Roszke and furious at their treatment by Hungarian authorities.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced fresh efforts to complete a wall to keep the refugees out.

Despite the efforts of volunteers offering water and some clothes, there were few amenities at the border. The area was strewn with garbage and more people could be seen walking along railroad tracks in Serbia on their way to Hungary.

Many of the travellers had slept outdoors in a field during a cold night. They had hoped to be bused to a registration centre, but very few buses appeared.

As they grew more frustrated, some of the migrants tried twice to break free from a police line at a collection point near Roszke but were pushed back.

At Budapest's Keleti train station, migrants were being allowed to board trains bound for Austria and Germany. In many cases, they were segregated from other passengers and told they could only enter certain carriages.

- The Telegraph