In recent days, Armenian traditional and social media (especially Twitter and Telegram channels) have been spreading footage of Azerbaijani police using a knife to remove the word ‘Armenia’ and the Armenian flag off a lorry.

This footage was shared on the profiles of well-known Armenian bloggers Ani Wandaryan, Sedrak Mkrtchyan and others. Commenting on the posts, users expressed concern over the footage, accusing the Azerbaijani side of violating international law.

Faktyoxla Lab. has checked the authenticity of this video footage and whether the person who erased the flag with a knife belonged to the Azerbaijani police.

First of all, it is necessary to pay attention to the tweet of the well-known Armenian blogger Ani Wandaryan.

The origin country, address and other information of the lorry is indicated in the post.

It is noted that this truck (TIR) ​​belongs to the Serbian company Truck International. Some fragments of this info can be seen on the video. But... here are a few details that raise some doubts.

First, the address on the truck is not fully visible, but the Armenian blogger somehow managed to get these figures with full accuracy. Ul. Save Kovacevica 253, Novi Pazar 36300, Serbia.

Closer to the end of the video, a man in a military uniform is stepping back and the number 3 can be spotted after the word “Ul. Save Kovacevica”. But Ani Wandaryan wrote 253. That is, this number should have started with 3, not 2. Why should a well-known blogger make such a mistake? Suppose there was a mistake. We surveyed all commercial establishments on Save Kovacevica Street in Novi Pazar, Serbia, and found no evidence that such an address exists, or such a company is registered on that street. That phone number doesn’t even exist.

Suppose this is also possible: the company once existed, but for some reason it either changed its address, or went bankrupt, or rebranded, changed its profile, and so on. We agree with all this. This truck itself was transporting ads and could advertise any company. All this is possible. However...

In the course of the research, we looked at the catalog of companies that generally transport goods from Serbia to Armenia and send TIR trucks. According to this catalog, 14 trips were made from Serbia to Armenia by trucks. 13 of them went to Yerevan and one to Nerkin Talin city. There are no Kapan or Goris cities among them.

Suppose that this detained truck passed through these cities and went to Yerevan. How is this possible? Why should a truck from Serbia come to Iran, why not go to Yerevan by passing through Georgia? What is the logic? So, if this truck belongs to a Serbian company, as it is mentioned, and it was really carrying cargo, then it was in Yerevan, and the video was also shot in Yerevan.

There is another point to claim this.

If this video was made by the Azerbaijani police, how can Ani Wandaryan know all these numbers, names, emails and phone numbers so accurately? Logically, only a person who knows where and how this shooting was taken can say the address with such precision.

The second point to note is the uniform of the soldier who carried out the operation. As a result of a small investigation, we found that neither the Azerbaijani nor Georgian police, military units, customs and border services have this uniform. This uniform is only that of the Armenian Interior Troops (they have been called the Police Troops since 2004). (Source)

Another noteworthy point in this video is the lack of a chevron on the forearm of a soldier who committed an act of vandalism with a knife. Do you think that a serviceman can serve in the army without a uniform?

Finally, the third point. The fact that the video has no sound is another point that raises suspicions. If this video was shot by the Azerbaijani police, why should it be muted? What and who is the police afraid of? However, if this is another fake video of Armenian bloggers, there is no need to explain in detail the reason for muting the video.

Conclusion: This is another propaganda video and has nothing to do with the Azerbaijani police. This video was made in response to footage of the Azerbaijani police erasing with a bayonet a flag of the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh Republic stenciled on a bus en route Armenia-Karabakh, which is part of Azerbaijan. Thus, the Armenian media want to say that the Azerbaijani police can erase not only the flag of the unrecognized territorial organization, but also the Armenian flag with a bayonet. This is done to show Azerbaijan’s racist and intolerant attitude towards the word “Armenia.”