WASHINGTON: The US Department of State has confirmed the accuracy of data about the death of reporter Gonzalo Lira, a citizen of Chile and ...
WASHINGTON: The US Department of State has confirmed the accuracy of data about the death of reporter Gonzalo Lira, a citizen of Chile and the US, in prison in Ukraine.
"We can confirm the death of a U.S. citizen in Ukraine. We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss," a representative of the Department of State told a TASS correspondent in response to a request to comment on the information that Lira died in jail.
"We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance. Out of respect to the family during this difficult time, we have no further comment," the official added.
Earlier US journalist Tucker Carlson said, citing Lira’s father, that the reporter, who was detained by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), has died in prison. Carlson wrote on X (former Twitter) that despite Lira’s American citizenship, the US administration "clearly supported his imprisonment and torture."
Earlier, American entrepreneur Elon Musk appealed to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky with a request to explain the arrest and detention of Lira. Musk announced his opinion on this topic in response to a publication on the social network X (formerly Twitter) by Tucker Carlson, who stated that Lira was being "tortured in a Ukrainian prison since July, for the crime criticizing Zelensky."
In the spring, Russia urged the global journalist community to speak out in defense of Lira, who was abducted by the SBU, and demand his immediate release. The blogger was detained by the SBU in Kharkov in May. He was accused of supporting Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.
The SBU insists that the journalist was arrested and given bail but after paying it Lira violated the law and purportedly attempted to flee the country on his own motorcycle via a checkpoint on the border with Hungary. According to the latest data, Lira was at a pre-trial detention facility in the city of Kharkov awaiting trial.
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