Camerawoman who tripped and kicked migrants apologizes, Petra László, a Hungarian camerawoman who kicked and tripped migrants near the Serbian border this week as they fled Hungarian police, said she was sorry Friday.
In the letter published in Hungary's Magyar Nemzet newspaper and seen by the Associated Press, László said she was "sincerely sorry for what happened."
The 40 year old, who was fired by Hungary's nationalist N1TV television channel Wednesday after video of her actions emerged, also sought to defend what she did.
"I was scared as they streamed toward me, and then something snapped inside me," she wrote. "With the camera in my hands, I didn't see who was coming toward me. I just thought they were on the attack and I had to defend myself. It's hard to make good decisions when one is panicking."
In one video, László, is seen sticking out her leg to trip a running man carrying a young child. Both subsequently fall to the ground. In a second video, she is seen kicking sideways at the knees of a man and young girl as they flee police.
László was heavily criticized after the incident and was questioned by police who released her without charge. She said she received death threats."I am not a heartless, child-kicking, racist camera operator," she wrote Friday. "I do not deserve the political witch hunt that has been launched against me, nor do I deserve the abusive threats that often call for my death. I am just a woman, who has recently become an unemployed mother."
N1TV is known for running reports sympathetic to Hungary's anti-immigration Jobbik political party.
In the letter published in Hungary's Magyar Nemzet newspaper and seen by the Associated Press, László said she was "sincerely sorry for what happened."
The 40 year old, who was fired by Hungary's nationalist N1TV television channel Wednesday after video of her actions emerged, also sought to defend what she did.
"I was scared as they streamed toward me, and then something snapped inside me," she wrote. "With the camera in my hands, I didn't see who was coming toward me. I just thought they were on the attack and I had to defend myself. It's hard to make good decisions when one is panicking."
In one video, László, is seen sticking out her leg to trip a running man carrying a young child. Both subsequently fall to the ground. In a second video, she is seen kicking sideways at the knees of a man and young girl as they flee police.
László was heavily criticized after the incident and was questioned by police who released her without charge. She said she received death threats."I am not a heartless, child-kicking, racist camera operator," she wrote Friday. "I do not deserve the political witch hunt that has been launched against me, nor do I deserve the abusive threats that often call for my death. I am just a woman, who has recently become an unemployed mother."
N1TV is known for running reports sympathetic to Hungary's anti-immigration Jobbik political party.
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