Petra László incident

Incident

On September 8, 2015, Petra László was working as a camerawoman at a holding camp near the border between Hungary and Serbia, documenting the ongoing migrant crisis when hundreds of migrants including Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans fled police at a makeshift relocation camp in Roske, just a few hundred yards from Hungary's border with Serbia. A video was posted on Twitter by German reporter Stephan Richter, showing a woman who was later identified as László "kicking a girl and tripping up the man carrying a child". The video went viral and attracted widespread media attention.

In response to the video, László's employer, N1TV (also known as Nemzeti TV) issued a statement saying, "An employee of N1TV today showed unacceptable behaviour at the Röszke collection point," N1TV said. "We have terminated the contract of the camera woman with immediate effect today."

László later wrote to Hungarian newspaper, Magyar Nemzet, that she was frightened by the rush of people and panicked, thinking she was going to be attacked. She issued a public apology September 11, 2015:

I am very sorry for the incident, and as a mother I am especially sorry for the fact that fate pushed a child in my way. I did not see that at that moment. I started to panic and as I re-watch the film, it seems as it was not even me.

She characterized the public reaction as a witch-hunt including smears and death threats which she did not feel she deserved.

The investigation

In September 2016, Hungarian prosecutors indicted László and charged her with breaching the peace, defined under Hungarian law as "antisocial, violent behavior capable of inciting indignation or alarm." The charge carries a maximum sentence of two years, unless there are aggravating circumstances.

Zsolt Kopasz, Chief Prosecutor, said in a press release that:

The violent actions of the accused did not inflict injury, however her behaviour was capable of provoking indignation and outcry in the members of the public present at the scenes

The press release stated that László kicked a young man and minor girl, and "towards a migrant who was running with a child in his arms with the intention to trip him," but that her leg did not reach. Kopasz continued that there has been no evidence uncovered to indicate that the actions were motivated by the migrant status or ethnicity of the victims. The trial was set to be held -and was held- in the city of Szeged.

Aftermath

On October 21, 2015, László stated she was considering moving to Russia following her trial in Hungary, and that she planned to file two lawsuits, the first against Osama Abdul Mohsen, the man whom she attempted to trip in the video, for changing his testimony, and Facebook for refusing to remove threatening groups on their website. László said "My husband wants to prove my innocence. For him, it is now a matter of honour."

In an interview with Russia’s Izvestia László stated she was only "trying to help police," as Mohsen had not obeyed orders. "I pushed him only because I was afraid. I did not see that there was a child. I’m sorry that it turned out this way," she told the newspaper. László said her life was never the same since the incident and she was dubbed a "heartless, racist, children-kicking camerawoman," fired from her job, and threatened by haters following the scandal. "I can definitely say that my life is ruined. It’s unlikely that I will be able to find a job and do what I like the most," she told the paper.

Mohsen, commented on László's apology, "I tell her, be sure you Hungarian journalist that karma will get back to you, and God will not leave this be." He stated in 2015 that he planned to sue both László and N1TV.

Mohsen later settled in Spain when he was offered a job by a Spanish sports organization. In November 2015, Mohsen declared that he wants to leave Spain and settle down in Austria or in Germany, to organize a football team, recruited from Syrian refugees. In December 2015, in an interview, Mohsen reported that even though he asked permission from prime minister Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish authorities refused his demand for family reunion, so his family must stay in Turkey. On 15 October 2016, the Spanish journal El Confidencial reported that the Escuela Nacional de Entrenadores de Fútbol (Cenafe) decided not to renew the contract of Mr. Mohsen, because he had "difficulties learning Spanish".

On 12 January 2017, László was sentenced to three years of probation for disorderly conduct by Szeged District Court. The judge said that her behavior "ran counter to societal norms" and said the facts of the case did not support her self-defense claim.