Hungarian journalist fired for kicking Syrian refugees to sue one of them


The Hungarian news camerawoman who was fired after being filmed kicking and tripping refugees said she plans to sue one of the men, as well as Facebook.
A German reporter posted a video to Twitter last month that showed Petra László kicking two refugee children and tripping a man carrying a child near the border area of Röszke. The N1TV channel, which The Guardian reports is linked to the far-right Jobbik party, fired László and called her behavior unacceptable. At the time, she said "something snapped in me," but in a new interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia, László said she was going to sue Facebook for removing groups that supported her while keeping up groups that have threatened her. László also said she plans to sue one of the men she kicked, Osama Abdul Mohsen, saying he "changed his testimony because he initially blamed the police. My husband wants to prove my innocence. For him, it is now a matter of honor."
Hungarian prosecutors said last week a criminal case has been opened up against László; she said after her trial, it's likely she will move to Russia with her family. "For us, it is important to leave Hungary," she said. Mohsen now lives with his family near Madrid, and is hoping to start working again as a soccer coach.
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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.
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