Czech foreign minister caught in prank interview involving fake weapons

Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka insists he recognized the man posing as a journalist. Video clips released by the group that arranged the encounter appear to suggest otherwise.

The incident took place on Aug. 21 at a secret location. Detektivni Parta, which describes itself as a group of journalists investigating disinformation, arranged the interview. Images show Macinka sitting across from a man wearing a hood, sunglasses and a mask, at a table fitted with microphones.

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It would have required someone to be deaf and blind not to recognize him.

Macinka said on Facebook that it would have required someone to be “deaf and blind” not to recognize the interviewer, activist Vojtech Psenak. But in one published clip, the minister acknowledges that it is the first time he has been interviewed by someone whose face he cannot see. Other excerpts show him discussing members of his party and billionaire Prime Minister Andrej Babis. The duration and subject of the unpublished portion remain unknown.

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security vigilance and cognitive abilities

The group said it hid several fake weapons and explosive replicas in the room, while people concealed themselves behind a curtain. It said Macinka asked his only bodyguard to leave without first checking the premises, and described the exercise as a test of his “security vigilance and cognitive abilities.” The group concluded that he had failed.

Czech police responsible for protecting senior officials are examining the incident, according to local media. Martin Kupka, leader of the opposition right-wing ODS party, called for Macinka to resign. Macinka said he had followed the same procedures used in “thousands” of other interviews and that a police officer had always been beside him.

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thousands