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Croatia Arrests Citizen of Bitcoin-Friendly Liberland

Last Updated March 4, 2021 4:44 PM
P. H. Madore
Last Updated March 4, 2021 4:44 PM

CCN.com has learned that tensions between Liberland‘s neighboring countries and the Liberland Settlement Association are growing.

Earlier in the day on Thursday, a member of the LSA was arrested by Croatian authorities inside of Liberland’s borders. According to the LSA, this is a violation of the Danube and Geneva Conventions. The man, Ulrik Grøssel Haagensen, had just arrived in Liberland after a long journey, according to the LSA.

Also read: President of Bitcoin-Supporting State Liberland Heading Out on Diplomatic Mission

The motives of Croatian police are unclear, but nearby citizens of Liberland immediately began to lobby them for his release. The tiny government of Liberland has stated that it will try to secure the release of its citizen by whatever means it must, though it hasn’t any police or army like does Croatia.

From the statement by the LSA:

The LSA is appealing to the regional delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross to ensure the humanitarian treatment of Haagensen in the notorious Croatian prisons, and to request the protection of the ICRC in the face of repeated and grave violations of the Geneva Conventions on the part of the Republic of Croatia. The Liberland government and the Danish embassy have been notified. Haagensen is a native of Denmark.

The status of Liberland  remains unclear on many fronts, as the micro-nation has yet to be officially recognized by any of its neighbors. Likewise, it has received very little support except from a few libertarians worldwide. Its self-appointed president and its very existence has been considered a joke by many on more than one occasion.

https://vimeo.com/131136699

The director of the LSA, Niklas Nikolajsen said:

We are rallying the whole greater Liberland organization and indeed the world to get Ulrik released by his abductors! We will be outside court tomorrow protesting, and Ulrik will be supported on the inside by our lawyer.

However, it is the first country of any sort to consider Bitcoin its national currency, and for this reason, the Bitcoin community has paid close attention to its development.