Hungarian Camerawoman Who Kicked Refugees: I Thought I Was Being Attacked
On Thursday, a camerawoman who was fired from a Hungarian news station after being caught tripping and kicking migrants—including small children—apologized for her actions while denying she was a racist or had any ill intent.
“Camera was shooting, hundreds of migrant broke through the police cordon, one of them rushed to me and I was scared,” wrote Petra Laszlo, according to Buzzfeed, “then something snapped in me….I just thought that I was being attacked and I have to protect myself.”
VIDEO: Hungarian police chase after #refugees in #Roeszke camp - @RichterSteph pic.twitter.com/jtgsHoR9ls
— Conflict News (@Conflicts) September 8, 2015
Elsewhere in her letter to Magyar Nemzet, Laszlo said she was “truly sorry” and sincerely regrets what happened but does not deserve to be the target of “the political witch hunts” against her. Via Google Translate:
I sincerely regret what happened. Just now I was able to collect myself enough to write about. In fact I am in shock from what they did and what they did to me.
Camera was shooting, hundreds of migrant broke, broke through the police cordon, one of them rushed to me and I was scared. I was scared as she poured me and then something snapped in me. I have not seen a camera in my hand, who are coming towards me, I just thought that was attacked and I have to protect myself. It’s hard to make good decisions at a time when people are in a panic and many hundreds of people rushing to her face. It will, at the moment it failed. I’m sorry about what happened and the mother as a separate regret that fate points a twisted kid in my way, I will not even noticed. I panicked as I can see in the images, as if it would be me. I did my sincere regret, and I take responsibility for it.
I’m not heartless, racist children kicking cameraman. I do not deserve it not for the political witch hunts against me, nor the smear, the death threats many times. I’m just a woman, since then, an unemployed mother of small children, who brought a panic situation, a bad decision. I am truly sorry.
According to AFP, Hungarian prosecutors said Thursday that they’ve opened a criminal investigation against Laszlo for breach of the peace.
“In the course of the investigation, the authorities will also examine if more serious crimes ... can be established,” a prosecutor told the news agency.