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| Hungarian Camerawoman Apologizes, but Video of Food Tossed at Penned Migrants Stirs Fresh Outrage | Hungarian Camerawoman Apologizes, but Video of Food Tossed at Penned Migrants Stirs Fresh Outrage |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Hungarian officials opened a police investigation on Friday into conditions at a migrant camp near the country’s border with Serbia, as video circulated on social networks showing officers throwing food to detainees held in pens. | Hungarian officials opened a police investigation on Friday into conditions at a migrant camp near the country’s border with Serbia, as video circulated on social networks showing officers throwing food to detainees held in pens. |
| The footage, and a second clip, was recorded by Michaela Spritzendorfer-Ehrenhause, an Austrian activist who visited a camp in the town of Roszke on Wednesday night, and it was posted on YouTube by her husband, Alexander Spritzendorfer, a Green Party politician. | The footage, and a second clip, was recorded by Michaela Spritzendorfer-Ehrenhause, an Austrian activist who visited a camp in the town of Roszke on Wednesday night, and it was posted on YouTube by her husband, Alexander Spritzendorfer, a Green Party politician. |
| One Syrian woman who spent time at the camp, Remis Shekal, 30, told Human Rights Watch the center at Roszke was “only fit for animals” and those held there were never informed if the food thrown to them was halal, or permitted under Islam. | One Syrian woman who spent time at the camp, Remis Shekal, 30, told Human Rights Watch the center at Roszke was “only fit for animals” and those held there were never informed if the food thrown to them was halal, or permitted under Islam. |
| The investigation was the second this week prompted by social media images that appeared to show the abuse of migrants in Hungary. Early Friday, Budapest police released video showing that a camerawoman who was recorded kicking and tripping migrants fleeing from police in Roszke this week had been taken into custody for questioning. | The investigation was the second this week prompted by social media images that appeared to show the abuse of migrants in Hungary. Early Friday, Budapest police released video showing that a camerawoman who was recorded kicking and tripping migrants fleeing from police in Roszke this week had been taken into custody for questioning. |
| The camera operator, Petra Laszlo, who has been vilified on social networks since the incident on Tuesday, tried to explain herself in a letter to a Hungarian newspaper, saying that she regretted her actions but had lashed out because she felt as if she was being attacked. | The camera operator, Petra Laszlo, who has been vilified on social networks since the incident on Tuesday, tried to explain herself in a letter to a Hungarian newspaper, saying that she regretted her actions but had lashed out because she felt as if she was being attacked. |
| “I was scared as the crowd rushed towards me, and then something in my snapped,” Ms. Laszlo wrote to the conservative daily Magyar Nemzet. | “I was scared as the crowd rushed towards me, and then something in my snapped,” Ms. Laszlo wrote to the conservative daily Magyar Nemzet. |
| “I am not a heartless, racist, child-kicking camerawoman,” she added. “I do not deserve the political witch hunts against me, the smears or the death threats. I am just a woman, and now an unemployed mother of small children, who made a bad decision in a situation of panic. I am truly sorry.” | “I am not a heartless, racist, child-kicking camerawoman,” she added. “I do not deserve the political witch hunts against me, the smears or the death threats. I am just a woman, and now an unemployed mother of small children, who made a bad decision in a situation of panic. I am truly sorry.” |
| The complete letter was translated into English by Mariann Ory, a reporter for the Hungarian newspaper Magyar Hirlap. | The complete letter was translated into English by Mariann Ory, a reporter for the Hungarian newspaper Magyar Hirlap. |
| Ms. Laszlo, 40, is under criminal investigation for disturbing the peace, but has already been tried and found guilty in the court of online public opinion. Her name has been mentioned in roughly 12 thousand negative comments appearing in millions of Twitter timelines this week, according to Brandwatch, a technology firm that tracks discussions on social networks. Her image has also been remixed into memes by bloggers who see her as the public face of Hungarian xenophobia. | Ms. Laszlo, 40, is under criminal investigation for disturbing the peace, but has already been tried and found guilty in the court of online public opinion. Her name has been mentioned in roughly 12 thousand negative comments appearing in millions of Twitter timelines this week, according to Brandwatch, a technology firm that tracks discussions on social networks. Her image has also been remixed into memes by bloggers who see her as the public face of Hungarian xenophobia. |
| Ms. Laszlo’s public admission of her actions would also seem to undercut determined efforts by supporters from Hungary’s anti-immigrant right, who had attempted to prove her innocence through close analysis of the video, dissected in slow-motion as if it were the Zapruder film. | Ms. Laszlo’s public admission of her actions would also seem to undercut determined efforts by supporters from Hungary’s anti-immigrant right, who had attempted to prove her innocence through close analysis of the video, dissected in slow-motion as if it were the Zapruder film. |
| The identity of the man who was tripped by Ms. Laszlo has not yet been confirmed, but Al Arabiya, a Saudi-owned satellite channel, and Hungary’s Index.hu reported that images circulating on Syrian Facebook pages show that the victim bears a striking resemblance to a well-known soccer coach from the eastern province of Deir Ezzor. That man, identified as Osama Al-Ghabad, was said to be fleeing persecution by both the government of President Bashar al-Assad and Islamic State militants. | The identity of the man who was tripped by Ms. Laszlo has not yet been confirmed, but Al Arabiya, a Saudi-owned satellite channel, and Hungary’s Index.hu reported that images circulating on Syrian Facebook pages show that the victim bears a striking resemblance to a well-known soccer coach from the eastern province of Deir Ezzor. That man, identified as Osama Al-Ghabad, was said to be fleeing persecution by both the government of President Bashar al-Assad and Islamic State militants. |
| Peter Bouckaert, the emergencies director of Human Rights Watch, described conditions in the Hungarian camps as appalling, in an interview with Al Jazeera. Writing on Twitter, however, Mr. Bouckaert reminded readers that the police officers caught on camera were merely carrying out policies crafted by the country’s political leadership. | Peter Bouckaert, the emergencies director of Human Rights Watch, described conditions in the Hungarian camps as appalling, in an interview with Al Jazeera. Writing on Twitter, however, Mr. Bouckaert reminded readers that the police officers caught on camera were merely carrying out policies crafted by the country’s political leadership. |
| Hungary’s conservative prime minister, Viktor Orban, described immigration from Muslim countries as a threat to Europe’s Christian character last week. A spokesman for the prime minister, Zoltan Kovacs, defended the police officers seen tossing food to penned migrants on Friday, telling Reuters, “I can see policemen who have been performing their duties for months, trying to take care of 23,000 migrants arriving continuously, day by day, while there is no cooperation whatsoever on their part.” | Hungary’s conservative prime minister, Viktor Orban, described immigration from Muslim countries as a threat to Europe’s Christian character last week. A spokesman for the prime minister, Zoltan Kovacs, defended the police officers seen tossing food to penned migrants on Friday, telling Reuters, “I can see policemen who have been performing their duties for months, trying to take care of 23,000 migrants arriving continuously, day by day, while there is no cooperation whatsoever on their part.” |
| “I can see they are trying to maintain order among those who are unable to line up for food,” he added. | “I can see they are trying to maintain order among those who are unable to line up for food,” he added. |
| The spokesman also defended his nation’s response in a television interview with Britain’s Channel 4 News on Friday night. | |
| Earlier in the week, Mr. Kovacs had defended the police on Twitter and sought to explain his country’s treatment of migrants on another social network, Medium. “Migrants, who request asylum,” in Hungary, Mr. Kovacs wrote, “can move freely in the country.” | Earlier in the week, Mr. Kovacs had defended the police on Twitter and sought to explain his country’s treatment of migrants on another social network, Medium. “Migrants, who request asylum,” in Hungary, Mr. Kovacs wrote, “can move freely in the country.” |
| “Prior to 2012, Hungary had the right to hold illegal immigrants until their asylum request was evaluated,” he continued. “Since 2012, when the European Union, threatening legal action, compelled Hungary to change these rules, authorities are no longer able to detain illegal immigrants in camps. If they don’t want to stay in the camps and wait for the official procedure, they cannot be forced to do so.” | “Prior to 2012, Hungary had the right to hold illegal immigrants until their asylum request was evaluated,” he continued. “Since 2012, when the European Union, threatening legal action, compelled Hungary to change these rules, authorities are no longer able to detain illegal immigrants in camps. If they don’t want to stay in the camps and wait for the official procedure, they cannot be forced to do so.” |
| Most of those crossing into Hungary, however, do not request asylum there, preferring to move on to European nations with more favorable conditions for refugees, like Germany or Sweden. | Most of those crossing into Hungary, however, do not request asylum there, preferring to move on to European nations with more favorable conditions for refugees, like Germany or Sweden. |