Serbian Interior Ministry Denies Media Access to Czech Firefighters

The Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) has blocked N1 television from interviewing Czech firefighters who are in Serbia to help combat wildfires. An N1 crew was denied access to the firefighters stationed at Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport, where the Czech unit is based while assisting in efforts to extinguish fires in the Deliblato Sands nature reserve in Vojvodina.

N1 had previously sought and received permission from the Czech Fire and Rescue Service to conduct an interview. The Czech service even provided N1 with a contact number for their team leader, who was reportedly willing to speak about the unit's deployment. The team leader suggested Nikola Tesla Airport as the most suitable location for the interview.

Following this, N1 submitted a formal request to the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs on Monday, seeking access for their news crew to the Czech unit at the airport. After receiving no response to their initial request, N1 sent a third email inquiry. The Ministry eventually responded with a brief statement: "We are unable to grant your request."

The Ministry of Internal Affairs did not provide any explanation or reason for denying N1's request to interview the Czech firefighters. The Czech team is currently assisting Serbia in battling wildfires, particularly in the ecologically significant Deliblato Sands area.

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We are unable to grant your request.