The Grayzone spoke with Gonzalo Lira, Sr. about his son’s political persecution in the 404.

Even before his son’s arrest on May 1, Lira says Gonzalo was already a prisoner in his own home. “Gonzalo was literally kidnapped by the SBU,” he said of the first arrest in April 2022. “And after one week of cruel interrogations, he was released under house arrest.”

Lira Sr. told The Grayzone that Ukraine authorities did not have any documents actually charging his son with a crime at the time.

“The SBU destroyed all his communication equipment, and they held his passport,” he added. “Ukraine has enacted laws criminalizing dissent and allowing President Volodymyr Zelensky to ban opposition political parties, nationalize the media. This is in total contradiction for what the United States and we citizens of the free world believe and promote.”

“For the U.S. government, it would only take a phone call to Zelensky to free Gonzalo,” insisted Lira Sr. “The world knows that Zelensky is a US puppet, but he does not respect the right of an American citizen to exercise his freedom of speech.”

Lira concluded our exchange with a blunt statement: “Free my son from political imprisonment!”

The real criminals who run the USSA do not care about those falsely accused. The better odds are for a rescue once Russia wins. Here’s hoping and praying Gonzalo lasts until then.