The State Department has refused to say if it’s engaging with the Ukrainian government over American citizen Gonzalo Lira, who was detained by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) due to his political views on the conflict with Russia.
Lira has a popular YouTube channel and a large following on Twitter and Telegram. He is also a writer who has contributed to several media outlets, including Business Insider. Lira was born in California and is a dual citizen of the US and Chile and had been living in Kharkiv, Ukraine, throughout the war.
Lira is a critic of the Ukrainian government and was arrested by the SBU on charges of justifying the Russian invasion. “After the start of the full-scale invasion, the blogger was one of the first to support the Russian invaders and glorify their war crimes,” the SBU said in a press release referring to Lira.
The SBU also accused Lira of “discrediting the top military and political leadership and the Defense Forces of our state.” He was charged under sections 2 and 3 of Article 436-2 of Ukraine’s criminal code, which outlaws the “distribution of materials” that justify Russia’s actions going back to 2014.
Epoch Times reporter Liam Cosgrove asked State Department spokesman Matthew Miller if the administration was aware of Lira’s detainment and how the US feels about Ukraine arresting an American for speech.
“So I will say in general that we’re aware of the report. We obviously support the exercise of freedom of speech anywhere in the world, and I’ll leave it at that,” Miller said.
When asked if the administration was working to secure Lira’s release, Miller said, “I’m going to leave my comments where I just left them.”
Cosgrove also asked Reps. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) about Lira’s detainment. Lieu said that he wasn’t aware of the case but said US citizens should “have the ability to express their thoughts and views” and that he would look into the arrest.
Responding to the news, Greene told Cosgrove: “America is providing weapons, equipment for the defense of their country, but the Ukrainian government is not going to defend any American’s freedom of speech, and that’s a real problem.”
Lira’s arrest received virtually no attention in Western media. One of the few outlets to cover it was the Daily Beast, which smeared the American instead of questioning the charges. According to the Beast, Lira is facing five to eight years in prison.
Gonzalo Lira sybolizes everything that is wrong with our leadership. Not standing up for his rights is emblematic of the hypocrisy at the core of our ruling elite. Lira did not talk about something he did not know — he lives there. But naively expecting to be protected by his American citizenship.
He was not allowed to leave the country since Ukrainian security prohibited him to travel.
This war is not only against Russia, this war is also against Christian values, the democracy and the human rights. Those Americans who are standing for Christian values, democracy and human rights, they are the same enemies for American oligarchy as Russian army.
In a way, I agree with you. I don’t consider monotheism compatible with democracy. Monotheism is authoritarian by its very nature. However given choice (or rather no choice) between monotheism and globohomo state, I will stand with monotheists. The parasitic, misanthropic empire must be destroyed.
We can only compare few political systems which functioned more or less successfully. And even that is not so simple because there are too many fakes and mythologies. To have a coherent conversation about that, we need, at least, a similar vision of History.
What concerns the central/west European civilization, we may compare only the totalitarian rule of Catholic oligarchy 16-17 centuries with Anglo-Saxon oligarchy. The West was united only twice. As we see, both of them were trying to establish a totalitarian rule. The same about the communist party rule. So, to avoid the totalitarianism, we need the balance and peaceful coexistence of different ideologies. It is possible to find consensus within one political system if everyone accepts Christian traditional values. Otherwise it doesn’t work.
I consider atheism as a branch of monotheism. Atheists have same kind of authoritarian mindset as monotheists but their ‘god’ is usually the state.
“if everyone accepts Christian traditional values”
See? With this line, you confirm your authoritarian mindset. What if someone doesn’t want to accept your values? There shouldn’t be any kind of unilateral (collectivist) thinking in a democratic society. You need completely independent, free thinking individuals who form this marketplace of ideas. The nature of any ideology is collectivist and often authoritarian so peaceful coexistence is rare. Democracy, true democracy cannot exist within monotheist environment. Monotheism is designed as a unification tool. This is good in a scope of humanity but unification means one ruler/master and people are not never unified for peace. People are unified for war.
Accepting Christian values doesn’t make one authoritarian. It is exactly other way around.
Matthew 7:12 – “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
What is particularly authoritarian about that? So, for Christians, it is not difficult to accept people with other ideologies as long as they don’t force their ideas upon others and don’t behave aggressively. If people agree about that, they can solve all other problems.
You consider yourself as a slave to your Lord God, correct?
Christians believe that God is their spiritual father and their creator.
Are you a slave to your father?
What for you need your freedom from God? To change your sex? Or you need your freedom from Christian morality in order to steal, lie, rob and kill without worrying about consequences?
So your argument is that humans don’t need freedom?
What freedom are you talking about? Freedom to choose when to die or freedom to destroy the lives of the others?
The freedom of a reasonable person is always restricted by his reason. The freedom of person with conscience is always restricted by his conscience. Only crazy may think that he is absolutely free, but he is not free, he is owned by the devil.
This is the main problem with monotheism. The binary mindset of your ‘good god’ and your ‘bad god’. The hostile “if you’re not with us, you’re against us” This is why some say religion is a source of all conflicts.
Okay, if you think God is not good and better to have no life at all, you are free to finish your life whenever you choose.
We don’t think of our Gods in such terms. Our Gods don’t own us and don’t dictate our lives.
If you don’t like the idea of God, you may use other word. For example, Nature. So you was created by Nature with a certain set of rules inside your brain. But still the rules are there and you have to follow them. Otherwise you can’t survive.
The same about the human kind. If we don’t follow certain rules, we can’t survive. That’s why we need the rules. If you like to call it slavery, you may call it slavery. But that is our only chance to survive.
It’s irrelevant what I like or don’t like. But I will agree with you that natural rules are already set. You don’t need any kind of authoritarian structures to set or dictate these rules.
What do you mean by authoritarian? If we agree to live in peace and don’t force anything upon each other, is it authoritarian?
I mean exactly as it is defined in the dictionary
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/authoritarian
You are substituting the set of rules with the authority of an individual person. Just read Matthew 7:12 once more. What is wrong about that? Why are you inventing things and slandering Christianity? What is the point? Do you want to say we need no rules and no laws at all?
If Tucker was still on Fox he’d feature the arrest.
This won’t get a mention anywhere on cable except maybe Newsmax.
CNN will demand his execution if they do bother to mention this.
Newsmax is the same kind of propaganda trash as FN and Clown Noise Network.
Lira said Carlson firing is a disaster but I don’t see it that way. It’s final nail in a coffin of mainstream propaganda machine. Carlson’s audience will follow him and the degenerate Murdoch propaganda network is broadcasting for pigeons. Their ratings are in the toilet and it will only get worse.
You wish.
How are CNNs ratings doing lately?
Pravda is doing better on ratings than Clown Noise Network
A old fashioned overnight test pattern has more viewers….
More hypocrisy that stinks straight to high heaven – what else is new I suppose?
We support freedom of speech, but ONLY if you say what we like to hear, or else we leave to rot in the prisons of our Nazi “allies” if you don’t….
Right. It’s never meant anything else since before the founding, … petit bourgeois idealisms, the commitment to which abides only when it’s not inconvenient to the interests of the Ruling Class. The Twitter case points the subterfuges by their own appointed law enforcement arm to proactively subvert free speech short of arrest, the cruder measure employed by the Ukra-Nazis.
So Putin should reciprocate by arresting NYT reporters in Russia, eh?
Gershkovich was arrested for spying, not for reporting. Perhaps the charges were fabricated. But, as I recall, he was covering a story on Russian military manufacturers at the time. So, it is at least possible that he was trying to discover classified quantities and new capabilities of equipment being produced for the war. Russia also claimed to have proof that he was covertly passing the information to someone.
According to the SBU itself, Lira was arrested for discrediting the top military and political leadership and the Defense Forces of the Ukraine regime.
Whether or not one could call his commentary “reporting” is in the eye of the beholder. But there is no doubt that he was critical of Zelensky. Criticism, in and of itself, should not be a crime, and the Biden Administration looks a bit hypocritical for turning a blind eye to this.
The WSJ journalist, remember him? He was arrested in the Urals. Why would a WSJ journalist be wandering around the Urals, the area chock full of resources?
My bad. Gershkovich was a WSJ journalist. I just assumed that Robert Scheetz was referring to him.
Our government/MSM has mastered the art of claiming moral superiority by regurgitating platitudes, while they’re actually taking away our rights including freedom of speech. It’s horrendous. …What’s that, neighbor? …You hate me, I’m deplorable, and I belong in jail? …Wait? Are you not reading your own yard sign? You know, the one that says, “Love is love, kindness is everything?” (Sarcasm alert)
Hasn’t Zelensky said he is for assassinating critics of Ukraine…??? Gotta love how with the billions we give them, they think it’s O.K. 2 mistreat Americans.. This war is a Neocon project to weaken Russia as secwretary of Defense Austin blurted out inappropriately. Now the Ukies are biting the hand that feeds them. Does America ever get in a war that isn’t a GIANT FIASCO…????
I thought the Zelensky-founded Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation put Rand Paul and Tulsi Gabbard on some list of Americans who are “promoting Russian propaganda.”
Miller did present free speech made in USA.
Cut all funding to the Nazis till he is released. Shouldn’t take long at all.
If Biden’s people actually disagreed with this. They are all in on murders and lies. So is our mainstream media, who parrot blatant known lies.
State Department would say a lot if this blogger was arrested by FSB…!
The real problem here is the lack of surprise.
We have always known this is what we are supporting. They are Nazis. Congress already said so, before the war, and the Administration went along with that at the time.
Now? Well, we knew that before they did this. No surprise.
We don’t want to know. We don’t want to see. So it is an ostrich response. If you prefer, the “see no evil” monkey response.
American oligarchy financed Nazi Germany not only before WW II but also in time the war. Without help from General Motors there would be no Hitler’s Drang nach Osten. Ford, Coca-Cola and other American corporations as well as American banks also contributed to German militarism.
True. Quite a few of the illegal (under Versailles) German arms factories secretly built in Russia were probably American-financed.
Russia, in Stalin times, used to buy from US some metal cutting machines etc. It is a different story. It was just a business.
Nazi Germany was militarized by American oligarchy on purpose. They wanted to start a big war in Europe.
Yes, Nazi Germany was militarized by the American and Russian oligarchies on purpose.
Communist party totalitarian rule is a different political system. It has nothing to do with the oligarchy. They tried to install an oligarchy system in Russia after the degradation and collapse of the communist party. It didn’t worked. Even in the worst times of Yeltsin, Russian oligarchs had much less power than American oligarchs because, unlike in US, in Russia there always was a strong opposition to the oligarchy system.
FYI. Ukraine arrested Lira last year too, but released him. As I recall, that happened just before the Kharkiv offensive.
His most recent arrest highlights the repressive nature of the Kyev regime. The thugs who overthrew the elected government of Ukraine in 2014 were issuing threats, including death threats, to members of the press from the moment the coup began. Now they are getting even tougher. Opposition Political parties have been outlawed. The Russian Orthodox Church has been outlawed and its property seized. Internal sanctions have been placed on individuals and businesses. People in Zelensky’s administration have been terminated for suspected disloyalty, and some have “disappeared”.
The Nuland State Department has turned a blind eye to all of this because it believes that the end, as inglorious as it may be, justifies the means. I didn’t want to admit, when Biden was VP, that he was fully onboard with this kind of behavior. But there is no denying it now.
Kiev regime is under full control of US government. It was created by US politicians on US money. If US stop financing, Kiev regime will have no money to pay the salaries to state bureaucrats.
Not entirely accurate, go back to 2021 and Ukraine scored better than Hungary and it is still better than Mexico in 2023 – and naturally every year much better than Russia.
https://rsf.org/en/index?year=2021
Bullshit… I live in Mexico. You don’t know what you are talking about.
You are jumping to the wrong conclusion based on your own bias, you know the Mexican press to be fairly free – and it is, so the one thing you know is then held up against the one thing you know very little about first hand – press freedom in Ukraine – and you arrive at the biased conclusion BS.
This is the judgement of the Reporters Without Borders. They have been making this assessment for more than 20 years – if you do not trust the reporters themselves then you perhaps belong in the group with Putin where you get to dictate what they should think.
And who do you think runs Reporters w/out Borders? Think Langley before you respond.
As usual if you actually discard all sources but the Russian ones you will arrive at the conclusion you seek, but then you were not searching, so do you have any organization which publish figures on freedom of the press that has its home in a country where there actually is freedom of the press?
And btw the notion that the RSF is run by Langley when the National Endowment for Democracy in the US at one point donated almost 1% of their budget is patently absurd:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/may/19/pressandpublishing.usnews
https://rsf.org/en/reporters-without-borders-keeps-unesco-consultative-status-condemns-disinformation
Regardless with safety of journalists being one stipulation and the fact that there is a clear crackdown as any place with a war, you have to question the analysis. Ukraine nosedived in those very rankings in 2022. And the comparison vs. other countries has had it jumping quite a bit year to year in the last decade.
Yes I certainly would and I did, had the war not been reflected in the numbers but as you even yourself point out:
So my and your question as to the veracity of the evaluation of the RSF should be put fairly much to rest.
Yes Ukraine has changed its score significantly during the first 7 years since Yanukovych was ousted the first two years getting less free, but not very much however, then by 2016 it started improving – fairly clear evidence that things was on the right track as the extremists got less and less power in the country.
“if” I actually discard, but, then again, I do not.
You wrote:
But now you claim that:
Was than not exactly what the first comment did?
No. Go read it again.
I just quoted your entire comment back at you, which part of:
Is not ‘discarding’ the source?
Arrogant much ?
Presumptuous … perhaps
Ukraine has problems. Mexico has different problems. But the US State Department has 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵 decided to support regime change there. That may change if Obrador continues renationalizing the electric utility industry.
I’m too ill informed about Mexican political problems and also the US propensity to interfere in Mexico, what I have heard lately sounded basically absurd ‘strikes in Mexico’ being debated to deal with narcotics related problems!?
What I found worrying was the fact that a ‘peaceful’ democratic country in a trade arrangement with the US and Canada could score worse than a country in the middle of a foreign military invasion.
He should be called a journalist, not just a writer and Youtuber.
“We obviously support the exercise of freedom of speech anywhere in the world, and I’ll leave it at that” (except when it comes to our best pals the Saudis, Israelis, Egyptians, etc …., then we look the other way)
…… uncle sam
I’m lighting up for peace and FREE speech.
https://as2.ftcdn.net/v2/jpg/02/55/94/39/1000_F_255943993_uRXQlfKgMHliLGxBwDPZikaLCuQjaUeL.jpg
Why are any of you surprised in the slightest at this bureaucrat’s response?
Why would he comment further?
What is in it for him/the WH to do so?
If he admits they are negotiating to get this guy freed? Then they are admitting that the charges are not viable.
Obviously, you are NOT going to do that with an ‘ally’ you are pouring massive amounts of money into.
And if he denies they are trying to get the guy released?
Then they are openly agreeing with whatever he was charged with. No matter how immoral.
Which could put them in more hot water with US voters.
I despise the Biden WH.
And their support for this war.
But I don’t blame them for not commenting on this further.
They simple cannot – politically.
BTW – I also despised the Trump, Obama and GWB WH’s as well.
To varying extents.
Clinton I could live with – except for his disgusting/cowardly handling of Rwanda (I don’t care that he is a sick pervert – that’s little/nothing to do with running the nation).
In 1967 I decided the US President should be impeached for war crimes. I have maintained that position for 56 years.
But when a basketball player is arrested in China……
“State Department Won’t Say If It’s Working to Free US Citizen Detained in Ukraine – Gonzalo Lira, a popular YouTuber and writer, was arrested by the SBU for his political views on the war”
There is the proof that he is not working for the CIA. If he was the US would be vocal in accusing Ukraine of arresting an innocent journalist.