Gonzalo Lira

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Gonzalo Lira

Gonzalo Ángel Quintilio Lira López
BornFebruary 29, 1968
Burbank, California, USA
DiedJanuary 11, 2024 (age 55)
Kharkiv, Ukraine
NationalityChilean


Gonzalo Lira (29 February 1968 – 11 January 2024) was a Chilean novelist, film director, and journalist who lived in Kharkiv, Ukraine.

He had reported on the Russo-Ukrainian conflict from a pro-Russian perspective, in opposition to the Western mainstream media's support for the USA-backed coup government in Ukraine.

He supported Pinochet; Lira wrote in defense of the 1973 coup and against Allende's presidency, further whitewashing Pinochet's crimes against humanity and likening him to a disinterested figure who begrudgingly accepted power.[1]

Gonzalo Lira died on 11 January 2024 while imprisoned by the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) for having criticized the Ukrainian government during the war. He died of complications arising from pneumonia that was untreated by the authorities, which led to a pneumothorax.[2] As a US citizen, he was not supported at all by his embassy to repatriate him or get him the healthcare he needed despite his father's pleas for help.[2]

References

  1. Gonzalo Lira (2022-06-30). "Let's talk about Chile, Allende and Pinochet." Twitter. Archived from the original.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "The tragic end of Gonzalo Lira: A voice silenced in Ukraine" (2024-01-13). Helsinki Times.