On December 29, 2021, an article was published on the website of Alternative television regarding the misdemeanor warrants handed over to individuals who passed through East Sarajevo in a car with the flag of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The article incorrectly claims that the flag on the rear window of the car is, in fact, “the war flag of the Army of BiH”:

A car with a war flag, the so-called Army of BiH, passed through East Sarajevo

ATV has found out that a car with the flag of the so-called Army of BiH passed through East Sarajevo today, and the police in the city handed over misdemeanor warrants to the perpetrators of this incident.

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In addition to the war flag of the Army of BiH, there was another green flag on the car with a white moon and a star reminiscent of the flag of Pakistan.

We remind you that the flag of the so-called Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, under which many crimes against the Serb people were committed, is often seen in the Republic of Srpska.

Also, the article contains a photo of the car where the prominent flags can be clearly seen.

The same claim – that the flag of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was on the car – was published on the website of the News Agency of the Republic of Srpska (Srna). As Srna states in the article, the misdemeanor warrant was served “for disturbing public order and peace by arguing, shouting, and wearing or highlighting symbols, images, drawings or texts of obscene, offensive or disturbing content”. A fine for this violation is between 100 to 300 KM. An article from this public news agency was also published on the website of the public broadcaster Radio Television of Republic of Srpska (RTRS).

Claims that the flag of the Army of RBiH was displayed on the car were found in the articles of about forty other media. Some of the media did not publish a photo of the car in their articles, but they repeated the stated incorrect claims.

The websites that shared the articles from the website of Alternative television also shared allegations about another flag displayed on the car. The agency Srna and the websites that shared Srna’s article have no claims related to the second flag.

What are the facts?

Following ATV’s and Srna’s reporting, other media also wrote about the misdemeanor report handed over to individuals who drove through East Sarajevo in a car with a flag on it. Some of them, such as the websites of Dnevni Avaz and Oslobodjenje, correctly stated that the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina flag was displayed, and not the Army of RBiH.

Raskrinkavanje wrote about the misrepresentation of these flags on three occasions, in the analysis from November 2018, March 2021, and December 2021.

The flag of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina looks like this:

The flag of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was adopted in 1992, and was in official use from 1992 to 1998, when the new flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina was adopted. The flag of RBiH looks like this:

Both flags are based on the coat of arms of the Kotromanic dynasty. There are, clearly, similarities between them. However, the flags differ from each other in several elements. The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina clearly shows that it is a symbol of this armed formation, and, unlike the flag of the Republic of BiH, behind the coat of arms with lilies are two crossed golden swords.

The second flag displayed on the same car, which can be seen in the photo, and which some media say is “reminiscent of the flag of Pakistan”, is not clearly visible. From what can be seen, it can be assumed that it is the flag of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina (IZBiH), for which it is stated on the official website of IZBiH that “it is green with a white crescent and a white five-pointed star in the middle of the open a crescent moon facing the spear”.

The flag of Western Herzegovina from 1760 is very similar. The crescent moon and star symbolize many Muslim countries, which is found on numerous flags, such as Turkey, Azerbaijan, Malaysia and others.

In this case, it is not the flag of Pakistan since there is a vertical white line on its left side, which is not in the photo featured in the articles of the domestic media.

Following these facts, we rate the claim, suggesting that “the war flag of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina” was displayed on the car that passed through East Sarajevo, which was first published on the website of Alternative television, as fake news. All other publications of the same claim are rated as distribution of fake news.