Gonzalo Lira, a critic of the Kiev government, is currently awaiting trial in Kharkov, Ukraine
US-Chilean journalist and filmmaker Gonzalo Lira has been imprisoned in Ukraine since last summer, accused of legitimizing Moscow’s military operation against Kiev. The blogger’s fate has worried none other than Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, Tesla and X.
In posts on X (formerly Twitter), Musk demanded answers from US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky on the state of the Lira. He wondered how it was possible that an American citizen was in jail in Ukraine “after sending more than $100 billion” to support the country during the conflict with Russia. The entrepreneur also stressed that it would be a “serious problem” if it turned out that the journalist was being persecuted for “simply criticizing Zelensky.”
Who is Gonzalo Lira?
Lira is a journalist, blogger, author and filmmaker with experience working in Hollywood. He is the author of several novels in English and Spanish, including the 2002 spy thriller ‘Acrobat’. Lira, 55, is also known online as ‘Coach Red Pill’ and offers lifestyle advice to male viewers.
He reportedly moved to Ukraine in 2010 and married a local woman. The blogger lives in Kharkov, the second largest city in Ukraine, in the east of the country, not far from the Russian border.
After the long-standing conflict between Russia and Ukraine escalated into a military conflict in February 2022, Lira began actively following the conflict on social media. Lira said that she loves Ukraine and its people and that what happened was a tragedy, but insisted that the conflict was provoked by the Zelenskiy government and its Western backers. The blogger said that Ukraine has no chance of winning against Russia and predicted failure.
He also criticized Western media’s efforts to portray Ukraine as a “democracy”, cited widespread corruption in the government and published a list of Zelensky’s opponents who he claimed had been “disappeared” by the Kiev authorities.
Lira’s three arrests
Lira’s disappearance in April 2022 made international headlines, with some social media accounts claiming that Lira may have been kidnapped and killed by members of the notorious neo-Nazi outfit ‘Kraken’ for criticizing Ukrainian authorities.
A week later, however, he resurfaced on social media, saying that he had been detained by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). According to the journalist, he was released without any charges but access to his accounts was blocked and he was told not to leave Kharkov.
The journalist was arrested once again in May 2023 and released to be held under house arrest after posting bail. On this occasion, he alleged that he was subjected to blackmail and physical abuse in detention.
Lira was arrested again in July and Ukrainian law enforcement officials said he was trying to leave the country for Hungary on a motorcycle. Lira has been in custody since then.
Washington’s reaction to the arrest
The US has been largely silent on the Lira case, with the journalist claiming that he only received care from the Chilean mission while in prison, and that the US Embassy “called me three times, but gave me nothing but ‘support’ and empty words.” Lira also claimed that if he could leave the country he could be extradited to Ukraine, especially since US Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland “hates me, or so I was told.”
When asked about Lira’s fate in August, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller declined to provide a meaningful response, citing “confidentiality”.
“The safety and security of every American overseas is our top priority. We can’t talk about specific cases in many cases because of confidentiality rules, but the safety and security of Americans is our top priority,” he said.
What his father says
The father of jailed journalist Gonzalo Lira Sr. directly blamed the US administration and its relations with Kiev. He claims that his son’s persecution stems from his courageous reporting on a dozen Zelensky “opponents” who have “disappeared”.
“What happened to my son is a victim of the Biden government and its relationship with the puppet Zelensky,” Lira Snr said in an interview with US journalist and political commentator Tucker Carlson on Saturday.
His father suggested that the connection between the US administration and the blogger’s difficulties may be even deeper, given that the blogger’s second arrest in Ukraine came “just days after he denounced Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”
“Why wasn’t he detained before? When he was released the previous year, he continued the same criticism of the war,” the reporter’s father added.
What does Ukraine say?
While Kiev insists that it rightfully targeted Lira for his activities, the SBU has repeatedly stated that the journalist is accused of “producing and distributing materials justifying the armed attack” and disseminating “false” information about the country’s armed forces. The journalist is currently awaiting trial and the first hearing of his case is scheduled for December 12.
