Update: Violence on Liberty Island, Liberland, July 5th, 2015
The Events of July 5th
Crom, a Brazilian native, had been with the LSA from the very early days, erecting our first base camp — and can without doubt be considered one of Liberland’s oldest and finest citizens.
Mikuláš (Czech Rep.) was a recent joiner to the LSA, who volunteered to assist Crom on his mission of going to Liberland through the Croatian blockade, to show the world that the LSA is serious about settling and that guns and violence will not stop us.
Both settlers were properly instructed in their legal rights, mentally and physically prepared for the action and provided with all necessities, including a legal field kit with Croatian translations plus Croatian coins to be used in pay phones during detainment. Our legal team was also alerted about the pending action.
Along with the LSA settlers, 3 volunteers from the Liberland Red Cross Society (LLRC) were landed, to observe, prevent human rights violations and to provide medical assistance to all conflicting parties. Considering past aggression by Croatian police as in the case of Ulrik Haagensen (Denmark), the LSA gratefully accepted the assistance of the LLRC and agreed to transport them to Liberty Island.
The LLRC volunteers were Niels (Netherlands), Vojtěch (Czech Rep.) and Josef (Czech) all sworn LLRC volunteers, neutral observers in the conflict and properly prepared to assist medically and in intervening between conflicting parties.
Both landing parties (LSA & LLRC) broke through the Croatian blockade of Liberty Island with much drama. Once on shore, the Croatian police landed behind them, and first forced Niels (LLRC) then Mikuláš (LSA) to the ground, even pushing them down by the neck while threatening use of their guns.
When Croatian aggression against even Red Cross personnel was obvious, Josef (LLRC) made a daring escape from Liberty Island, and was picked up by LSA boats in the Danube and taken to safety.
Croatian police next arrested Vojtěch (LLRC), and quickly moved on Crom (LSA). Crom, a Liberland citizen, did not voluntarily submit to Croatian aggression and was then tackled by Croatian police in the Danube itself, and taken down by a throat grip — suffered several hard blows in the process. He was handcuffed with 3 Croatian policemen sitting on top of him — and carried off, and abducted from Liberty Island with the rest. As Crom was thrown onto a Croatian police vessel, he yelled “Freedom Liberland” in defiance, which was immediately answered by the 20 or so Liberlanders gathered on the opposite Serbian bank.
The Events of July 6th
The two LSA and two LLRC members arrested spent the night in the dark and overcrowded Osijek prison. They were allowed no phone calls, nor was our lawyer allowed to speak with them.
Only at around 11:00 the next day was our Lawyer informed about the time and place of the hearing.
In anticipation of a ransom demand by the Croatians, LSA settlers journeyed in two vehicles from the LSA HQ in Serbia to Croatia, but were held back for more than an hour at the border while cars and persons were strip searched — an uncomfortable experience for especially our female members.
Eventually the Croatian police declared the luggage clap on one of the cars not in proper order and the vehicle thus unfit for Croatian roads — and the LSA was turned back.
Returning in other vehicles (and after being detained again) they eventually made it across — but much too late for the court hearing, and much too late to pay the ransom for LSA member Mikuláš & LLRC member Vojtěch — who had asked to be set free against ransom. They were instead taken back to Osijek prison.
It was very obvious to all involved that this was intentional on the side of the Croatian authorities, and nothing but deliberate harassment.
Crom (LSA) and Niels (LLRC) had however asked for translators to be present in their native language (Portugese and Dutch) as is their right, and as Croatian authorities could not provide these, they were released from court to house arrest in Croatia with their papers seized, pending trial on the 14th of July 2015.
The LSA made it across the border later in the day, and took our offer of a nice Pension for the LSA/LLRC members placed in house arrest.
Crom was sore and exhausted after his treatment at the hands of Croatian police, but is determined that no ransom be paid on his behalf, unless the Croatians presented proof in court that he did indeed illegally enter Croatia, as is his charge.
Niels from the LLRC has also asked that no ransom money be paid on his behalf to the Croatians — and remains confident that the Liberland Red Cross Society will see to it that he is released. Both men now face 8 days in house arrest, followed with likely 30 days in the hell hole known as Osijek prison.
The LSA will keep working to get all political prisoners set free! We will organize protests around the world, and we will expose Croatian violations of basic human rights and international law for all to see. We will launch appeals on all the so-called “convictions” and we will document every breech and right violation conducted on behalf of the Croatian authorities. We will bring in both the International Red Cross and Amnesty International — and we feel we have just about the needed amount of material to start a case against Croatia in the European Court of Human Rights.
We urge the Croatian State and authorities to open up informal channels with us in order to begin discussing how this crisis can be brought to an end without further escalations — and before Liberlanders end up getting seriously hurt at the hands of Croatian police or military. Croatian authorities will find us very willing to negotiate — and ready to present a plan which would address any serious concerns Croatia would have in allowing Liberland to be peacefully settled.
We will not however bend to brute force and no amount of aggression on the part of Croatia will stop us from settling Liberland, a country formed on soil, properly claimed by Liberland — which neither Croatia nor Serbia had previously claimed.
Contributions to the LSA legal fund can be made to the following Bitcoin address: https://blockchain.info/address/14Jn7GDf4YsN4SENoX4AakpBb6fmom8WEK
For press inquiries please contact: info@liberlandsa.org
LSA Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/liberland.settlement.association
The Liberland Settlement Association, is a Swiss NGO dedicated to the settlement and development of Liberland, and open to members from around the world.
For a background on the legal aspects of Liberland and its status as a sovereign country, see: http://liberlandpress.com/2015/05/media-fact-check-liberland-claims-liberland/
