Unconfirmed accounts claim blogger Gonzalo Lira was abducted by a unit linked to the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion.
Chilean-American blogger Gonzalo Lira was last heard from in Ukraine almost a week ago. He was reporting from the city of Kharkov and has been a critic of President Volodymyr Zelensky and of Kiev’s conduct during the conflict.
The Chilean foreign ministry said that it was aware that “those close to the Chilean Gonzalo Lira Lopez, who was in the Ukrainian city of Kharkov,” had lost contact with him since April 15. According to the diplomats, they remained in touch “with the relevant entities, to stay informed regarding any news about the location of [our] compatriot.”
Lira, a Chilean-American author and movie maker who used to work in Hollywood, was to appear on former UK MP George Galloway’s radio show Mother of All Talk Shows (MOATS) on Sunday, but ended up missing the program.
“It’s with great regret and even greater sense of concern and anxiety and more, that I have to tell you that there is still no sign of our first guest Gonzalo Lira,” Galloway said on his show.
Other journalists, including Dan Cohen and Max Blumenthal, have also sounded the alarm over the blogger’s disappearance and have expressed fears he could have been kidnapped, even tortured. They have added, however, that this wasn’t confirmed or verified.
Tweets from Ukrainian Nazi Sergei “Botsman” Korotkikh, who has now made his account private, say Gonzalo Lira has been kidnapped, tortured and might be beheaded. Impossible to verify, but this is plausible. SBU is known to torture and murder its victims. https://t.co/PaJGKsmyM9
— Dan Cohen (@dancohen3000) April 18, 2022
Read More: American Zelensky critic goes missing in Ukraine
