State Dept. Silent About US Citizen Detained in Ukraine

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Facts

  • The US State Dept. spokesman Matthew Miller on Sunday refused to comment on whether the administration is working to secure the release of an American detained in Ukraine for his political views on the Ukraine-Russia war, stating only that the US supports the exercise of freedom of speech anywhere in the world.1
  • This comes as the Kharkiv-based dual American-Chilean national Gonzalo Lira, who runs popular Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube pages, was arrested by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) earlier this month for charges of spreading Russian propaganda.2
  • The SBU accused Lira of justifying the Russian operation in Ukraine, denying its alleged war crimes, and discrediting Ukraine's top officials. The journalist has provided on-the-ground coverage of the conflict and has been a critic of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government.3
  • Lira has been charged under sections 2 and 3 of Art. 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. During the searches, cell phones and a computer with evidence of illegal activities were reportedly found in his possession.4
  • The controversial blogger will remain in jail as the case moves forward and the investigation gets underway. He reportedly faces a potential five to eight years in prison if found guilty.5
  • He was first arrested in April 2022 but was released after a week with no charges being pressed at the time. He has since blamed the US outlet Daily Beast for drawing Kyiv's attention to his work.6

Sources: 1AntiWar, 2Scheerpost.Com, 3Al Mayadeen English, 4Babel, 5The Daily Beast, and 6RT.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by NV. Lira has rightly been detained for justifying Russia's invasion, denying its war crimes, while insulting brave Ukrainian defenders who are fighting for the country. A search of Lira's computer devices following his arrest has confirmed these violations.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Helsinki Times. Since the outbreak of the war, Ukraine has passed laws criminalizing dissent, banning opposition political parties, and nationalizing the media. Such measures fly in the face of Western values of freedom of speech. Lira's arrest is a further demonstration of that and such developments should not be tolerated if Ukraine wants to be accepted in the Western community of states.

Predictions