Its been a month. No updates. It is time to draw attention to this.
Emil Cosman (10 minutes)
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Its been a month. No updates. It is time to draw attention to this.
Emil Cosman (10 minutes)
is there a link missing??
It should show - just checked it shows my side.Quote:
Posted by thepainterdoug
Historical background to this thread:
Chris Menahan
InformationLiberation
May 07, 2023
https://www.informationliberation.co...a_arrested.jpg
Quote:
Writer and journalist Gonzalo Lira, a citizen of both the US and Chile, was arrested this week in Kharkov, Ukraine for criticizing the Zelensky regime and is facing up to eight years in prison.
The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) arrested Gonzalo Lira, a US-Chilean national residing in Kharkiv, on suspicions of harbouring pro-Russian sentiments. This marks the second time Lira has been apprehended by the SBU. Lira, an author and filmmaker who relocated to Kharkiv years ago and married a Ukrainian, was initially detained in April 2022 but was released after a week without charges. He was subsequently instructed not to leave the city and prohibited from discussing his arrest.
From The Helsinki Times, “Detaining Gonzalo Lira: Another blow to the freedom of press in Ukraine”:
The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) arrested Gonzalo Lira, a US-Chilean national residing in Kharkiv, on suspicions of harbouring pro-Russian sentiments. This marks the second time Lira has been apprehended by the SBU. Lira, an author and filmmaker who relocated to Kharkiv years ago and married a Ukrainian, was initially detained in April 2022 but was released after a week without charges. He was subsequently instructed not to leave the city and prohibited from discussing his arrest.
As reported by Ukrainian media, the SBU's statement accuses Lira of publicly justifying Russia's armed aggression, denying or glorifying supposed Russian war crimes, and undermining Ukraine's top military and political leadership and Defence Forces.
On May 5, the SBU website published a statement in Ukrainian titled "SBU detained a foreign blogger in Kharkiv who denied the crimes of the Russian Federation and insulted Ukrainian defenders." The statement alleges that Lira was among the first to support Russian invaders and glorify their war crimes. It also accuses him of discrediting Ukraine's military-political leadership and Defense Forces. The SBU claims that Lira filmed provocative videos featuring Ukrainian defenders and insulted them.
Lira disseminated his "streams" on his YouTube and Telegram channels, amassing nearly 300,000 subscribers. He also denied Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and the mass murder of civilians by Russian forces. The SBU has notified Lira of suspicion under parts 2 and 3 of Article 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (manufacturing and distributing materials containing justification of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, committed repeatedly).
In March 2022, Ukraine's parliament enacted 14 laws to counter Russian aggression, including two that modify legislation on information activity. These laws prohibit mass media from justifying or legitimising the denial of Russia's armed aggression in Ukraine and the occupation of its territories. They also forbid the glorification of individuals involved in the aggression or administration of occupied areas.
The Ukrainian Criminal Code now contains Article 435-1, which establishes liability for threatening or insulting military personnel and their families, and Article 436-2, which pertains to the justification or denial of Russian military aggression, the occupation of Ukrainian territories, and the glorification of those involved in the aggression or occupation. Penalties for these offences range from arrest for up to 6 months to imprisonment for up to 8 years, depending on the circumstances.
The SBU filmed Lira's arrest, during which heavily armed agents were involved. All participants' faces, except Lira's, were blurred out. A close-up of a smartphone displaying an image of Lira's children as a screensaver was also left un-blurred. Lira is currently detained on suspicion of producing and disseminating materials justifying the Russian Federation's armed aggression against Ukraine. The edited video shows heavily armed special forces knocking on Lira's door and aiming a machine gun at the 55-year-old Lira, who opens the door in his pyjamas. The metal soundtrack from Override Spedup fades down enough to hear the words of a special forces member telling Lira while tapping his arm: "Welcome to Ukraine."
While it is true that Lira has criticised the Zelensky regime and the eight-year-long shelling of Donbas residents by Kyiv, he has not participated in any activities other than exercising his right to free speech as a citizen and respected journalist. Whether or not we agree with Lira's opinions, freedom of speech must not be restricted, especially during times of conflict. These are the values we claim to be defending.
I have seen several of liras reports. this seems a great injustice, but as we slide into new depths and we are all so drained and desensitized, will anyone care?
Gonzalo must have known they would continue to monitor him and that he would eventually be a target if he continued to give interviews and speak up from within Ukraine. I don't know if he was very brave or quite unwise; perhaps he could not get out, but it would have been good if he could have continued to report from somewhere safer. Hopefully his family is ok.
My post on the WW3/Ukraine thread on 9 May: :flower:
~~~There are quite a few other videos about this, including from Brian Berletic, Alex Christoforou, Alexander Mercouris, Clayton Morris and Kim Iverson.
It's actually a very serious situation for Gonzalo. The problem is that [arguably in a Ukrainian court] he probably has broken the current laws of that country. And the authorities there will be wanting to make a humiliating public example of him.
But if he stays healthy and unhurt physically, he might just have to wait for the war to end and for the Kiev regime to surrender, flee, or be toppled, one of which is very likely to happen before the end of this year. In the meantime, as we can see all around us, genuine journalism is a dangerous activity requiring increasing levels of courage.
Gonzalo was very cavalier (one might say reckless, given his circumstances), but he always stood for the truth. That's something that's so very very important now, more so than ever before in our lifetimes.
https://sp.rmbl.ws/z8/p/F/r/g/pFrga....ira-rbywhk.png
--o-O-o--
- 🔥 NAZI Ukraine Jails US Commentator Gonzalo Lira for Speaking Uncomfortable Facts:
Ukraine Jails US Commentator Gonzalo Lira for Speaking Uncomfortable Facts
- US political commentator Gonzalo Lira was arrested by the Ukrainian SBU for allegedly “producing Russian propaganda;”
- The Kharkov Oblast Prosecutor’s Office posted a video of “evidence” which included Gonzalo pointing out Ukraine’s Nazi problem and the fact that the Ukrainian government has killed 1,000s by shelling the Donbass region;
- These are verified facts admitted by the both the Western media and Western governments now supporting and sponsoring Kiev in this current conflict;
- Pressure must be placed on the US government and Western “human rights” organisations;
- It is Gonzalo Lira today - it could be someone else you have more in common with or even yourself tomorrow.
I am going slightly off topic here as this is an important and valid question. Thank you for stating it. I asked myself that before starting this thread.Quote:
Posted by thepainterdoug
As you can see from Exomatrix's and others contributions above, yes, there are people who still care. And that is very, VERY important.
I can only answer from my view - the day we stop caring is the day we are spiritually dead. No matter how worn down from a full spectrum assault on every aspect of our humanity - bodies, minds, souls, spirits.
It is not simply random that the most notorious ceremony of our MisLeaders is the annual CREMATION of CARE ritual at Bohemian Grove. Elimination our love, empathy and ability to care for all life is the primary goal of the forces we are now under siege of.
So no, not gonna stop caring. Even if there is nobody else left that cares.
I feel you thepainterdoug, I really do. Been there myself. But not gonna stop caring. Here is a genuine HUG for you from me across the miles:
:bearhug:
:grouphug:
:focus:
I hope he is wrong....
Quote:
Posted by Bill Ryan
... "they" might want to keep him in the cooler as an exchange piece against a couple 100s Ukrainian prisoners?Quote:
Posted by Satori
The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) arrested Gonzalo Lira, a US-Chilean national residing in Kharkiv, on suspicions of harbouring pro-Russian sentiments. This marks the second time Lira has been apprehended by the SBU. Lira, an author and filmmaker who relocated to Kharkiv years ago and married a Ukrainian, was initially detained in April 2022 but was released after a week without charges. He was subsequently instructed not to leave the city and prohibited from discussing his arrest.As reported by Ukrainian media, the SBU's statement accuses Lira of publicly justifying Russia's armed aggression, denying or glorifying supposed Russian war crimes, and undermining Ukraine's top military and political leadership and Defence Forces.
On May 5, the SBU website published a statement in Ukrainian titled "SBU detained a foreign blogger in Kharkiv who denied the crimes of the Russian Federation and insulted Ukrainian defenders." The statement alleges that Lira was among the first to support Russian invaders and glorify their war crimes. It also accuses him of discrediting Ukraine's military-political leadership and Defense Forces. The SBU claims that Lira filmed provocative videos featuring Ukrainian defenders and insulted them.
Lira disseminated his "streams" on his YouTube and Telegram channels, amassing nearly 300,000 subscribers. He also denied Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and the mass murder of civilians by Russian forces. The SBU has notified Lira of suspicion under parts 2 and 3 of Article 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (manufacturing and distributing materials containing justification of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, committed repeatedly).
In March 2022, Ukraine's parliament enacted 14 laws to counter Russian aggression, including two that modify legislation on information activity. These laws prohibit mass media from justifying or legitimising the denial of Russia's armed aggression in Ukraine and the occupation of its territories. They also forbid the glorification of individuals involved in the aggression or administration of occupied areas.
The Ukrainian Criminal Code now contains Article 435-1, which establishes liability for threatening or insulting military personnel and their families, and Article 436-2, which pertains to the justification or denial of Russian military aggression, the occupation of Ukrainian territories, and the glorification of those involved in the aggression or occupation. Penalties for these offences range from arrest for up to 6 months to imprisonment for up to 8 years, depending on the circumstances.
The SBU filmed Lira's arrest, during which heavily armed agents were involved. All participants' faces, except Lira's, were blurred out. A close-up of a smartphone displaying an image of Lira's children as a screensaver was also left un-blurred. Lira is currently detained on suspicion of producing and disseminating materials justifying the Russian Federation's armed aggression against Ukraine. The edited video shows heavily armed special forces knocking on Lira's door and aiming a machine gun at the 55-year-old Lira, who opens the door in his pyjamas. The metal soundtrack from Override Spedup fades down enough to hear the words of a special forces member telling Lira while tapping his arm: "Welcome to Ukraine."
While it is true that Lira has criticised the Zelensky regime and the eight-year-long shelling of Donbas residents by Kyiv, he has not participated in any activities other than exercising his right to free speech as a citizen and respected journalist. Whether or not we agree with Lira's opinions, freedom of speech must not be restricted, especially during times of conflict. These are the values we claim to be defending.
Ukraine’s recent implementation of laws criminalising dissent, banning opposition political parties, nationalising the media, and even persecuting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for maintaining canonical communion with Moscow has raised concerns among free speech advocates. These actions have been criticised for undermining democratic values and creating a chilling effect on freedom of expression.
The detainment of Gonzalo Lira serves as a stark reminder of the delicate balance between national security and individual liberties, especially during times of conflict. It also raises questions about the Zelensky administration's dedication to democratic principles and the obligation of its Western supporters to address these concerns. As the situation in Ukraine continues to unfold, it is crucial for the international community to remain vigilant in advocating for the protection of freedom of speech and other fundamental rights, while holding governments accountable for their actions.
Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, Western media and governments have systematically overlooked or even suppressed news and information about any undemocratic, criminal, or corrupt activities or even war crimes committed by the Ukrainian side of the conflict, while emphasising the same from the Russian side.
Gonzalo Lira is a Chilean-American writer, filmmaker, and financial analyst. Born on November 29, 1972, in Santiago, Chile, he spent much of his life in the United States. He is known for his work as a novelist, screenwriter, and director, as well as his contributions to the financial sector, particularly in economics and investment strategy.
Lira has authored several novels, such as "Counterparts," "Acrobat," and "Gegenspieler." He maintains a presence on YouTube, where he shares his insights on politics and social issues. He is also a regular guest on the acclaimed "Mother of All Talk Shows (MOATS)" hosted by George Galloway.
Lira is recognised for his controversial and outspoken style, which has both attracted and repelled various audiences. Despite the polarising nature of his opinions, he has developed a loyal following of people who appreciate his candour and expertise. Lira is active on Twitter, YouTube, and Telegram and has over 300,000 followers.For the truth about the Zelensky regime, Google these names:His last tweet on April 22 mentioned the names of several Ukrainian dissidents who have been killed or arrested by the Kyiv regime. The list includes Volodymyr Struk, a Ukrainian politician who was abducted and killed in March 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Denis Kireev, a Ukrainian official executed in the street shortly after attending the first round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Belarus.
Vlodymyr Struk
Denis Kireev
Mikhail & Aleksander Kononovich
Nestor Shufrych
Yan Taksyur
Dmitri Djangirov
Elena Berezhnaya
Once again: If you haven’t heard from me in 12 hours or more, put my name on this list.
GL
— Gonzalo Lira (@GonzaloLira1968) April 22, 2022
¤=[Post Update]=¤
- Gonzalo Lira The Duran and the SBU:
- Gonzalo Lira being SILENCED by Ukraine | Redacted with Natali and Clayton Morris:
That video is from last year, the first time he was arrested and detained — but then he was released a week or so later, apparently none the worse for his experience.Quote:
Posted by ExomatrixTV
What we don't know is what the conditions for his release were (he clearly wasn't allowed to talk about his experience very much), and it has to be possible that he signed something as an agreement that the Ukrainian authorities now consider that he has since broken.
...
My immediate thoughts on this were that this very public crass hypocrisy has now been reported so widely that it actually seems likely to help Gonzalo's case. Let's very much hope that the consulates start to take action, and we may remember he's a Chilean citizen, too.Quote:
Posted by Ravenlocke
:flower:
Quote:
Posted by Gwin Ru
I noticed that too. His last Tweets on Twitter were on April 30, 2023. Here is one of them:Quote:
Posted by Satori
Father of Gonzalo Lira, American jailed in Ukraine, speaks out against “political imprisonment”
ALEXANDER RUBINSTEIN·
JUNE 1, 2023
Quote:
US citizen Gonzalo Lira faces a long prison term in Ukraine for criticizing the country’s government. Shunned by the US government, his father is fighting to stop the “slow death of a son.”
When US media have demonstrated any interest in the arrest of an American citizen, Gonzalo Lira, it has been primarily to celebrate his prosecution on the grounds that he has been “shilling for Putin.” The US State Department, meanwhile, refuses to answer questions about the disappearance of an American at the hands of a government substantially funded by Washington.
The Grayzone spoke to Lira’s father, 80-year-old Gonzalo Lira Sr., about his son’s arrest. “I can only say that this episode has marked my life because it is living a slow death of a son,” Lira Sr. said. He fretted that the Ukrainian government was preparing a “kangaroo court” for his son, and lamented that it could lock him up for over a decade for his political speech.
Lira is an American and Chilean citizen who has been living in Kharkov, Ukraine for several years. He first emerged as a novelist, then attempted a career as a filmmaker before marketing himself as a dating coach known as “Coach Red Pill.”
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Lira earned internet notoriety as a war blogger. His analysis of the Russian military operation and harsh criticisms of the Ukrainian government from within Ukrainian territory instantly transformed him into a top target of Kiev’s often rabid band of online supporters. On May 1, Ukrainian state security agents arrested Lira for the second time in just over a year.
The first time he was jailed, Lira emerged after several days, announcing his freedom to the public through new social media accounts. This time, however, Ukrainian authorities charged him with the alleged crime of justifying “Russia’s armed aggression” and disseminating “fakes about the war in Ukraine.” If convicted of these crimes, he faces 13 years in prison.
Lira’s arrest was announced alongside the detention of ten other so-called “internet agitators” living in Ukraine.
“The blogger also denied the facts of Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian cities and mass murders of civilians by ruscists,” the SBU said in an official statement, likely referring to disputed narratives around the massacre in Bucha in March 2022 and missile strikes on the Kramatorsk train station in April of that year. Lira challenged the Ukrainian government’s version of events in both instances.
While both Chile and the United States have freedom of expression enshrined in their constitutions, neither government has issued a statement on the arrest of Lira.
According to Gonzalo Lira, Sr., the U.S. Embassy in Kiev held a video conference with his captive son on around May 23. He initiated contact with the embassy to ask them to work towards his son’s release, but was told only that his son had been provided a defense attorney by Ukrainian authorities.
When Lira Jr. protested the attorney appointed to him, he was offered a list of other lawyers to choose from, according to the embassy. Presumably, they were all public defenders.
Meanwhile, the State Department has refused to publicly discuss the US citizen’s arrest by a government whose employees are subsidized by US taxpayers. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller refused to answer a question by reporter Liam Cosgove on whether the U.S. was working for Lira’s release.
Gonzalo Lira Sr. speaks out
Lira Sr. told The Grayzone that he and his son have not spoken to one another in 24 years. But his son’s arrest triggered his parental instincts, prompting him to appeal to both the U.S. Embassy in Kiev and media outlets to pressure the Zelensky government for his son’s release.
An affable 80-year-old retiree, Lira Sr. says he does not share the political views his son has espoused, though he is critical of the government in Kiev. Asked about mainstream reports celebrating his son’s arrests in Ukraine and painting him as anti-Semitic and a “misogynist” — allegations which have nothing to do with his legal persecution — Lira, Sr. said that his son “has a very high IQ as detected when he was 10 years old. He enjoys putting people on the spot, playing with them; a bit sadistic.”
Despite becoming estranged from his son following his divorce from his mother, Lira shared warm memories of their time together in New York City. He recalled how they spent hours during the winter building model cars, planes and tanks. In the summer, “we would enjoy the pool,” he said, adding, “Gonzalo is an excellent swimmer.”
Lira Sr. told The Grayzone that he worried his son was being tortured, and could not sleep normally. “I can only say that this episode has marked my life because it is living a slow death of a son,” he said.
He doubts his son will ever be released: “At present they are preparing a kangaroo court. Zelensky and his thugs do not fight for democracy and freedom, they fight to keep themselves in power with the blessings of Biden.”
Lira Sr. said of his son: “He feels that the Ukrainian citizens are not being told the truth as to the results of the war while Ukraine is being destroyed. Gonzalo cannot be accused of being a Russian propagandist nor agent, he simply has openly [expressed] to his near 300,000 followers his impressions of the war. He has never contacted a Russian soldier nor Russian agent. As an American citizen living in the country that his two children live, he has expressed his right of speech.”
Even before his son’s arrest on May 1, Lira says Gonzalo was already a prisoner in his own home. “Gonzalo was literally kidnapped by the SBU,” he said of the first arrest in April 2022. “And after one week of cruel interrogations, he was released under house arrest.”
Lira Sr. told The Grayzone that Ukraine authorities did not have any documents actually charging his son with a crime at the time.
“The SBU destroyed all his communication equipment, and they held his passport,” he added. “Ukraine has enacted laws criminalizing dissent and allowing President Volodymyr Zelensky to ban opposition political parties, nationalize the media. This is in total contradiction for what the United States and we citizens of the free world believe and promote.”
“For the U.S. government, it would only take a phone call to Zelensky to free Gonzalo,” insisted Lira Sr. “The world knows that Zelensky is a US puppet, but he does not respect the right of an American citizen to exercise his freedom of speech.”
Lira concluded our exchange with a blunt statement: “Free my son from political imprisonment!”
Because the USA disapproves of GL’s politics and public statements, he will be left to rot.
If, instead, he was a transgender-woke-lamebrain busted with a joint or hashish, he’d be free by now.
Kim Iversen interviews Gonzalo Lira Sr., the father of the journalist, who details the negligence and out right hypocrisy of the Biden Administraion. The U.S. embassy should be able to let us know the whereabouts of Gonzalo, and should visit him, and allow his lawyer to visit them. They should be protecting his first amendment rights but are absolutely not doing that.
A popular American cliche is that our military, and war operations (including proxy wars) happen to "protect our freedoms." While that is a lie, Lira, Sr. shows us that no one is more of a hypocrite than Joe Biden on this matter.
(30 minutes)
While my heart goes out to him. There is literally zero chance in my current opinion that he is not completley under the control of the SBU. To think otherwise would be absurd. His attack on Scott Ritter seemed forced, illogical, and I could see the fear/despair in his eyes.
We will know the truth when Kharkiv is liberated . . . if he's still alive and has cognitive abilities.
My humanity provides me deep empathy for him.
However, the fact he moved to Ukraine, didn't learn the language, and made a career out of being a "pick up artist" for poor (in the economic sense) beautiful Ukrainian women leaves me with little sympathy.
If anyone believes he was picked up by the SBU, given all his devices back, and allowed to talk s**t on the regime, carte blanche, with no strings attached, while the Ukrainian criminal government officials shoot people in the back of the head execution style (remember the "negotiations" that happened with the Russians initially) is ridiculous.
He was a successful guy, could have gotten a good wife, maybe even married someone half his age here, in America.
Beware the mid-life crisis.
With that said, I truly hope he survives and is okay.
And I will add, the fact he didn't immediately leave is highly suspect. He is not required to do military service as he's not a citizen.Quote:
Posted by derek
I'll let others speculate on that.
This whole thing reeks of BS.
Why is he still there?
Why is the SBU letting him do this?
Why does he periodically disappear, make fear-inducing statements about his safety, then reappear after a "nice polite chat with the SBU who gave me my laptop back and are letting me say whatever I want."
Why was he in Ukraine [THE MOST CORRUPT COUNTRY IN EUROPE AND THIRD MOST CORRUPT ON THE FACE OF THE PLANET EARTH] doing business there?
Why is he attacking folks like Ritter and causing division?
What are the morals of someone who moves to a third world, poor, corrupt country to shack up with women in their 20s?
What might someone with those morals do?
Or be willing to do?
He's American. Let me repeat: He's American. That means he's safe. That means he can leave.
Is the west using him?
The SBU?
Both?
Or is this the greatest coincidence-theory of all time?
Remember, SBU = USA
It's true that most Americans have the attention span of a goldfish:
You Now Have a Shorter Attention Span Than a Goldfish
https://time.com/3858309/attention-spans-goldfish/
But let's keep in mind last time he did this, not only did he emerge ok, said the SBU treated him well, gave him all his devices back, let him "speak freely" but then began attacking the very people who were the loudest about concerns for his saftey.
His wife is Ukrainian, and he has two small children who he talked about frequently in his early videos from Kharkov, and clearly loved greatly. They moved safely away from Kharkov soon after the SMO started, and he did mention that quite often last year.Quote:
Posted by derek
Several have commented that he kind of let himself go quite a bit in the last few months. He put on weight, let his hair and beard grow, and started smoking again. And he'd never mentioned his wife and children at all for a very long time, maybe not once this year. One has to wonder if that relationship fell apart, maybe because of the distance, not being able to travel, and the continual daily stress for everyone.
:flower:
By the way, the 'pick-up-artist' Daily Beast smear was a total distortion. And he was unable to leave Kharkov (or Ukraine) as an agreed condition following his first arrest last year. There's no 'BS' here.
My mistake there. I recall encountering his "Coach Red Pill" videos years ago and just assumed it was more pick-up artist "manosphere" content. Especially given the trend of folks like that to admittedly move to Eastern Europe (or southeast Asia) to shack up with economically disadvantaged women.
I didn't read the Daily Beast piece, as I don't care to read luciferian propaganda claptrap. It was just from my own impressions.
If he has a wife and kids, that adds a whole new dimension to the control the SBU may have over them. Especially given that they are citizens.
I will say the fear in his eyes is tangible.
Quote:
Posted by Ravenlocke
- Gonzalo Lira's Father Pleads With The US: "He's Facing 6-8 Years in Prison for Speaking His Mind":
Get the FULL SHOW without ever missing a segment here: rumble.com/c/KimIversen :dog:
Seems like he's a still alive at least .
According to Gonzalo Lira, Sr., the U.S. Embassy in Kiev held a video conference with his captive son on around May 23. He initiated contact with the embassy to ask them to work towards his son’s release but was told only that his son had been provided a defense attorney by Ukrainian authorities.
https://thegrayzone.com/2023/06/01/f...e-imprisonment
Appears GL will get a "trial." Faces imprisonment which will end when war does. Life is not in danger.
Ukraine, fighting for freedom and justice, with some obvious exceptions and hypocrisies
hope this atm disaster ends soon
Gonzalo Lira is out and trying to get out of Ukraine
https://twitter.com/GonzaloLira1968/...40558803140608