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12 People Were Arrested Trying to Enter Their Self-Proclaimed Country

Twelve activists were arrested crossing into the disputed territory of Liberland on Saturday.

The denizens of Liberland, a self-proclaimed country whose official motto is "to live and let live," have sure been getting into a lot of trouble lately.

The Free Republic of Liberland came into existence in April after Czech politician Vit Jedlička traveled to the disputed patch of land on the Serbian-Croatian border and raised a flag. Since then, Jedlička and his fellow activists have faced opposition, including arrest, from the neighboring countries.

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Saturday evening, 12 Liberland settlers, including Jedlička himself, were forcibly captured by Croatian police while attempting to enter the made-up Libertarian country by boat, according to the Liberland Settlement Association (LSA), an advocate group for the country.

The arrested Liberlanders say they were traveling in international waters on the Danube River when Croatian police rammed their three small boats to land. They allegedly took the activists, who are all European nationals, to a police station in the city of Draž against their will.

A representative from LSA told Motherboard the Liberlanders were imprisoned overnight but have since been released.

"They were found guilty of an illegal border crossing and fined," the spokesperson said.

The piece of land that Liberland occupies has been in dispute for decades. It was previously unclaimed, but controlled by Croatia, which now asserts it will not recognize Liberland as a country. LSA says Liberland has a right to the property, citing a statement from their legal advisor, Professor Thomas W. Bell of Chapman University.

"Lands not claimed by any country qualify as terra nullius under international law—unowned lands," Bell said. "The Liberlanders just want to settle in a place that nobody else wants."

The organization said the actions of the Croatian police are are in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 49, which prohibits the deportation and forcible transfers of individuals to occupying territory.

"They will be appealing to a higher court as they did not cross a border into Croatia and are therefore not guilty of the crime," the LSA spokesperson told Motherboard.

The Liberlanders do not appear to be stepping down any time soon. The LSA has established a base camp in Serbia with power and internet from which the activists are working on day-to-day operations towards making the self-declared nation a permanent settlement.

"We call upon Croatian authorities to stop their aggression against peaceful Liberland settlers, and to stop violating international law," LSA Chairman Niklas Nikolajsen said in a statement. "Let us settle our Island in peace, and create a society there, open for all."