by WorldTribune Staff, January 12, 2024
Gonzalo Lira, an American journalist who was being held in prison in Ukraine, has died, Tucker Carlson reported on Friday.
“Gonzalo Lira Sr. says his son has died at 55 in a Ukrainian prison, where he was being held for the crime of criticizing the Zelensky and Biden governments. Gonzalo Lira was an American citizen, but the Biden administration clearly supported his imprisonment and torture,” Carlson wrote in a post on X.
As WorldTribune.com reported on Dec. 10, Lira, one of the few journalists to report what is actually happening on the ground in Ukraine, was arrested in May and had been imprisoned since July allegedly for his criticism of the regime of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
While Lira’s case was ignored by legacy media outlets, independent journalist Tucker Carlson and X owner Elon Musk had called on Zelensky to explain why the American citizen was being held in a Ukrainian prison.
In May 2023, the Ukrainian government charged Lira with violating sections 2 and 3 of Article 436-2 of Ukraine’s criminal code, which prohibits portraying the military conflict in Ukraine as an “internal civil conflict.” Lira faced up to 13 years in prison.
In the Dec. 10 report, WorldTribune.com noted that the Biden Administration, which has sent over $100 billion to Ukraine since the conflict with Russia began, refused to comment when reporters questioned the State Department if they were in discussions with the Ukrainian government to negotiate the release of Lira.
Musk wrote on X on Dec. 9: “An American citizen is in prison in Ukraine after we sent over a $100 billion? Is there more to this story than simply criticizing Zelensky? If that’s all it is, then we have a serious problem here.”
Musk tagged Zelesnky on X and asked him to “please educate the American people about this matter.”
Several weeks ago, Carlson spoke to Gonzalo Lira Sr., who predicted his son would be killed.
Gonzalo Lira, Sr. says his son has died at 55 in a Ukrainian prison, where he was being held for the crime of criticizing the Zelensky and Biden governments. Gonzalo Lira was an American citizen, but the Biden administration clearly supported his imprisonment and torture. Several… https://t.co/F0nOG9qGvv
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) January 12, 2024
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