The cyclist who pushed a five-year-old girl to the ground with a knee blow on Christmas Day last year, is in turn going to court. He is suing the girl’s father for sharing the video footage of the incident on social media. That writes RTL Info.
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The video was viewed massively last winter and caused quite a stir. The images show how a mother is walking with her two children in the snow at Baraque Michel on the High Fens. In the background, a 62-year-old cyclocross rider appears. He uses his bell, but was not heard by the three. The man does not brake, but in order to pass, he knees a little girl in the back. The five-year-old girl falls to the ground and the cyclist continues on without looking back.
The man was still stopped by the father of the girl who happened to be filming the three. The scene took place on Christmas Day 2020 and the girl’s father posted the footage on Facebook. A complaint was also filed against the cyclist, but a court in Verviers ruled in March that the cyclist, through lack of caution or precaution, delivered accidental blows, with no intent to harm anyone else. He was therefore suspended from the sentence.
This time it is the cyclist himself who goes to court. He is suing the girl’s father for defamation because he shared the images on social media. As a result, according to his lawyer, the man had to stay inside for several weeks because he felt threatened. Jacques Englebert, lawyer for the girl’s father, responds to RTL: “We have the right to express ourselves. We have the right to post or have posted a video on the internet. In this case, we must check whether we have exceeded the limits of this freedom of expression.”
The two parties will meet for the first time on November 18. The trial is likely to take place in the fall of next year.
(sgg)
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