My Take | Some journalists’ lives are worth more than others
- US commentator Gonzalo Lira was crucified for being right about the war in Ukraine. His death from medical neglect in prison has been met by a deafening silence from Western officials and pundits
In politics, there is often no reward, only penalty, for being right, especially when you go against the messaging of the ruling elites.
Gonzalo Lira, an American citizen, war commentator and blogger, has died in Kharkiv, Ukraine, after a prolonged period of medical neglect in prison. His misfortune was being too prescient about the war being unwinnable, the regime of Volodymyr Zelensky being increasingly dictatorial and corrupt, and that the US should have tried diplomacy rather than spearheading another futile but brutal proxy war.
Just as pundits and politicians in the West have made sure you hear about the plight of some foreign journalists but not others, so they have kept deafeningly quiet about Lira’s imprisonment and death at the hands of Ukrainian authorities. Lira is Jamal Khashoggi 2.0; another proof of President Joe Biden’s love of press freedom.
Lira died on January 11 after an eight-month imprisonment by local authorities for making “pro-Russian” statements. He was arrested last year for “production and dissemination of materials justifying Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine”.
His passing was announced by his father in the United States as he criticised the US embassy and the State Department for doing nothing to help his son, even after his health started to worsen in prison.
“I cannot accept the way my son has died. He was tortured, extorted, incommunicado for eight months and 11 days and the US embassy did nothing to help my son,” Lira Snr said as he released emails, correspondence and documents related to his dealings with US authorities.
