HSBC fires employees for making mock ISIS execution video
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HSBC has fired several U.K. employees after video emerged online showing the group participating in a mock ISIS-style execution.
The footage shows multiple employees wearing black outfits and balaclavas standing behind an Asian colleague wearing an orange jumpsuit, The Telegraph reports. One of the men in black appears to be holding a coat hanger, and another yells, "Allahu Akbar" — "God is Great" in Arabic — which ISIS executioners have said in their taped murders of hostages.
The Sun reports the video was filmed during a team-building exercise, and was briefly up on Instagram before being deleted. On Twitter, HSBC's UK Press Office wrote, "Once we saw this abhorrent video released by The Sun we took the decision to sack the individuals involved. We apologize for any offence."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
