American journalist Gonzalo Lira died from neglect in Ukrainian prison

by WorldTribune Staff, January 14, 2024

Gonzalo Lira, an American journalist who was a prominent commentator on the Russia-Ukraine war, died in a Ukrainian prison after weeks of neglect by authorities who failed to treat him for pneumonia, reports say.

Imprisoned in Ukraine for speech critical of the country’s government, the 55-year-old Lira died shortly before noon on Jan. 11 in Kharkiv, where he had been imprisoned for eight months.

Gonzalo Lira

A note written by Lira which was provided by his father to The Grayzone independent media outlet indicates the Lira’s death came after a nearly three-month battle with pneumonia, a condition which was apparently ignored by his Ukrainian jailers until just weeks before his death. Gonzalo Lira Sr. had spent weeks pleading with the American embassy to intervene in his son’s medical emergency.

Emails reviewed by The Grayzone show that after learning of his son’s illness, the senior Lira urged the embassy to intervene on Jan. 3. In a message to U.S. officials, he noted that Ukrainian authorities appeared to make an effort to conceal information about Lira Jr.’s health from his family and legal representatives. “The medical warden in the pre-trial jail in Kharkiv is not giving information as to the state of his health,” he wrote, concluding: “It has been 12 days since I knew his state.”

Gonzalo Lira was finally brought to the hospital and allowed to see his lawyer on Jan. 4. The defense attorney left the meeting with a hand-written note from Lira explaining his situation, which is believed to be his final written correspondence.

The letter reads: “I have had double pneumonia (both lungs) as well as pneumothorax and a very severe case of edema (swelling of the body). All this started in mid-October, but was ignored by the prison. They only admitted I had pneumonia at a Dec. 22 hearing. I am about to have a procedure to reduce the edema pressure in my lungs, which is causing me extreme shortness of breath, to the point of passing out after minimal activity, or even just talking for 2 minutes.”

On Jan. 5, Lira Sr. wrote to the U.S. embassy: “I need the Embassy to keep in close touch while he is in the hospital and ensure that his health is progressing while in the hospital. You should also contact the Doctor in charge of Gonzalo while in the hospital and verify his recuperation.”

But his efforts proved fruitless. A week later, Lira Sr.’s worst fears were confirmed when he received word that his son had died. He now blames Washington and Kiev for his death.

“I cannot accept the way my son has died. He was tortured, extorted, incommunicado for 8 months and 11 days and the US Embassy did nothing to help my son,” Lira Sr. stated in an email announcing the news. “The responsibility of this tragedy is [with] the dictator Zelensky with the concurrence of a senile American President, Joe Biden. My pain is unbearable. The world must know what is going on in Ukraine with that inhuman dictator Zelensky.”

Lira Jr.’s arrest in May 2023 on charges of “production and dissemination of materials justifying Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine” helped to galvanize domestic opposition to U.S. funding for the war and led to calls for his release by Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson.

Human Events editor Jack Posobiec noted in a Telegram post: “Khashoggi was not a U.S. citizen but look at how the media reacted to his death and blamed Trump. Gonzalo Lira was a U.S. citizen, and the media is not even talking about his death in Ukrainian prison. Are you paying attention yet?”

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