Judicial Watch has obtained a part of the State Division communications referring to the imprisonment and loss of life of US-Chilean YouTuber Gonzalo Lira in Ukraine for criticizing the battle and the U.S. and Ukraine governments, as The Gateway Pundit reported.
Today: How the U.S. Embassy in Kiev stonewalled Gonzalo Lira’s father’s determined please for assist after which scrambled to cowl their a** after his loss of life.
Ep. 47 Gonzalo Lira is an American citizen who’s been tortured in a Ukrainian jail since July, for the crime of criticizing Zelensky. Biden officers approve of this, as a result of they’d like to use the identical normal right here. The media agree. Right here’s an announcement from Gonzalo Lira’s… pic.twitter.com/4H2otHhYHi
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) December 9, 2023
Gonzalo Lira Sr. gave an interview to Tucker Carlson launched Dec. 9, 2023, describing the state of affairs and charging the U.S. Embassy in Kiev “hasn’t performed a factor” to assist his son.
“Neither I nor his sister residing within the USA have been capable of talk” with Lira, his father mentioned. “The Embassy by no means visited him, besides, for the primary time, at his court docket appointment Nov. eighth.”
“An American citizen is in jail as a result of he was exercising his proper of freedom of speech”, Lira Sr. informed Carlson. “The US authorities’s silence suggests a level of complicity, or at the least tacit approval of Gonzalo’s arrest, since nothing else convincingly explains the conspicuous lack of response.”
“Did the State Division give the inexperienced mild to Zelensky to place my son in jail?” Gonzalo Lira Sr. requested.
After the interview with Tucker Carlson, the strain elevated on the U.S. Embassy to do one thing concerning the case.
Senator Ron Johnson’s workplace (R-Wisconsin) started sending inquiries to the U.S. Embassy in Kiev.
Legislative Assistant Justin Stebbins in Senator Ron Johnson’s workplace wrote to the State Division on Jan. 8, 2024:
“We’ve obtained quite a few inquiries about Gonzalo Lira’s case, a youtuber arrested in Ukraine. Are you able to present an replace on his case? Apparently, his first Listening to was on December 10, 2023.
As I’m certain you might be conscious, Lira has alleged he was tortured whereas detained in Could and June and has been lower than flattering about State’s assist. I’m conscious of the constraints relating to what State can do for an arrested citizen overseas and have conveyed this however it might be very useful to have an account of the details/standing of the case in keeping with State.”
In a follow-up mail that very same day, Stebbins wrote that ”I’m primarily involved with State’s evaluation of Lira’s claims of being overwhelmed/tortured whereas detained in Could/June. Moreover, does State count on to weigh in on (Ukrainian felony code) 436-2, a legislation cited by Freedom Home as problematic basically.”
That is the primary time anyone in an official capability in Washington appears to have questioned the validity of our “allies” in Ukraine arresting and torturing a U.S. citizen for the crime of “Justification, recognition as official, denial of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation towards Ukraine and glorification of its individuals.”
Regardless of the U.S. Embassy’s insistence there was nothing they might do to place strain on Ukrainian authorities, the strain was on the Embassy to lastly take motion.
Gonzalo Lira’s Loss of life Jan. 11, 2024
On the similar time, Gonzalo Lira Sr. saved writing to the U.S. Embassy “day by day” begging for them to avoid wasting his son’s life, proper up till Jan. 11, the day Gonzalo Lira died of pneumonia. He was affected by double pneumonia, pneumothorax, and extreme edema.
“Hello group, Mr. Lira’s father is now emailing us on a regular basis with the identical data. Let’s discuss at present about how we need to reply to those”, the American Residents Providers Unit of the U.S. Embassy in Kiev wrote on Jan. 11, attaching a letter from the daddy that ended:
“My son has been in a hospital since January 4th in crucial well being situation. Have you ever visited him to make sure he’s receiving correct medical remedy? Will you report back to me or will this be one other unanswered letter?”
Be aware that this was the day of Gonzalo Lira’s loss of life.
Nevertheless, we now know the U.S. Embassy would even have been capable of intervene on his behalf, and so they knew it.
The Smoking Gun
On Jan. 4, 2024, the U.S. Embassy in Kiev wrote to that “we are going to undergo CA/OCS (Consular Affairs/Abroad Citizen Providers) to approve put up’s request to request humanitarian launch for U.S. citizen Gonzalo Lira.”
Hooked up was a “Diplomatic Be aware requesting humanitarian launch for Gonzalo Angel Lira.” It was marked “Accepted” by Deputy Assistant Secretary for Abroad Citizen Providers Angela Kerwin within the Bureau of Consular Affairs of the U.S. State Division in Washington, D.C.
This appears to be the smoking gun within the story of the U.S. Embassy’s refusal to place strain on the Ukrainian authorities within the case of Gonzalo Lira.
If the U.S. Embassy in Kiev and the State Division in Washington, D.C. have been capable of file a diplomatic observe requesting humanitarian launch for Gonzalo Lira January 4, 2024, after Tucker Carlson highlighted the case, why have been they not ready to take action sooner, regardless of repeated pleas from for Gonzalo Lira, his father and sister, since his arrest Could 2023?
Sadly, this turnaround got here too late to avoid wasting Gonzalo Lira’s life.
“The Consular part at Embassy Kyiv (sic) was notified this morning that U.S. citizen Gonzalo Lira handed away late within the night of January 11 in a Kharkiv hospital. He was admitted to the hospital ICU on January 4 and was receiving remedy for power coronary heart illness and pneumonia. An post-mortem is being carried out, after which we hope to be taught the precise explanation for loss of life.”
The morning after Lira’s loss of life, the State Division was already in spin management mode. In an e-mail dated 8:45 am on January 12 (presumably Jap Time – Kiev is 7 hours forward of Washington, DC), an unnamed official at State wrote “in search of clearance on press steering on the loss of life of US Citizen Gonzalo Lira in Ukraine by 10 AM”.
The press steering connected to the e-mail entitled “Ukraine – Loss of life of US Citizen Gonzalo Lira – 12 JAN 24” was not included within the FOIA launch. We’ve written Judicial Watch to ask if this doc has emerged.
At 10.16 AM (EST) on Sunday, Jan. 14, an unnamed State division official wrote to ACS and Consular Affairs colleague thanking them “for viewing this clearance request on a weekend! We’ve a request from Embassy Kyiv to beef up press steering traces when answering: Q: Why didn’t the U.S. authorities do extra to help Mr. Lira?”
At 3:13 PM (EST) an unnamed official wrote to U.S. Ambassador Bridget Brink and Deputy Chief of Mission in Ukraine Robert Needham: “In case you agree, we’ll return and ask for a extra detailed line to push again on the any attainable (sic) “embassy didn’t do something” Qs.”
On Jan. 16, an unnamed official wrote, “I’m certain Tucker Carlson and Firm will likely be throughout this. I really feel unhealthy for Kyiv.”
Quickly sufficient, the State Division was making an attempt to depict any intimation they didn’t do sufficient to avoid wasting Gonzalo Lira’s life as a “Russian narrative”.
“What if any media has Publish carried out to counter the Russian narrative that State did nothing to assist Lira/that he’s a martyr/and so on. Are you able to please share statements/tweets/and so on. if any)?” an unnamed State Division official wrote on Jan. 20 after a digital Home Overseas Affairs Committee briefing attended by HFAC Workers Director Michael Matlaga, HFAC Senior Advisor Europe and Eurasia Philip Bednarczyk, and State Dept. Senior Counsel Cart Weiland, amongst others.
If you wish to know why State Dept. was out to get Gonzalo Lira, look no additional than his nearly 2-hour video about Victoria Nuland, Ukraine biolabs, the Maidan coup and the way Nuland conspired with Burisma boss Ihor Kolomoisky, sponsor of the ne-Nazi Azov Brigades, to put in Volodymyr Zelensky as President of Ukraine 2019:
Subsequent: Congress Republicans Look into the Loss of life of Gonzalo Lira—What’s Subsequent?
