Former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed, who was detained in Russia since 2019, was launched on Wednesday in a jail swap with the U.S.
The discharge comes two years after Reed was convicted by a Russian court docket and sentenced to 9 years in jail for a drunken incident the place he was accused of endangering a Russian police officer.
"At the moment, we welcome house Trevor Reed and have a good time his return to the household that missed him dearly. Trevor, a former U.S. Marine, is free from Russian detention. I heard within the voices of Trevor's mother and father how a lot they've anxious about his well being and missed his presence. And I used to be delighted to have the ability to share with them the excellent news about Trevor's freedom," U.S. President Joe Biden mentioned following Reed's launch.
In 2019, Reed traveled to Russia to go to his girlfriend, Alina Tsybulnik, and on the evening of August 15, the 2 attended a celebration collectively. In response to Reed's household, who posts details about the case on-line, the previous Marine was inspired to drink "a considerable amount of vodka and apparently grew to become inebriated."
"There's additionally a risk that he might have been given different substances with out his data, however we've no indication of this aside from the truth that he has no reminiscence of something. He has no reminiscence of the night previous ingesting vodka and being requested to toast many occasions," the household beforehand mentioned concerning the case.
Following the get together, Reed shared a experience house with some pals however grew to become nauseous and requested the automotive to cease. After Reed bought out, some others within the automotive known as the police for help, and he was ultimately taken to a police station "as an alternative of taking him to a medical facility, which is reportedly the official process for this sort of state of affairs for Moscow residents," the household mentioned.
A day later, when Reed's girlfriend returned to the police station, she was knowledgeable that Reed was "being charged with a severe crime of deliberately endangering the lives and well being of the cops that introduced him to the station," in line with the household.
The Washington Submit reported that Reed was accused of attacking the police officer that originally picked him up, in addition to hanging one other officer. Reed was additionally accused of inflicting the police automotive to swerve, the Submit reported. Throughout a listening to, Reed mentioned that he didn't keep in mind many features of that August 2019 evening and pleaded not responsible.
Regardless of his conviction, Reed's household has continued to quote flaws within the investigation, equivalent to an absence of video proof of the police automotive swerving on the street. On the Free Trevor Reed web site, the household additionally mentioned experiences that Trevor was not positioned in handcuffs when he was initially picked up by cops.
"The preliminary police experiences (translated into English) didn't point out Trevor being bodily compelled into the police car. Later police experiences advised that Trevor needed to be forcibly positioned into the police car. If Trevor was extraordinarily intoxicated and/or compelled to get into the police car, why was he not restrained?" The household mentioned on the web site.
Following his launch on Wednesday, Reed's household thanked Biden in a press release saying "The president's motion might have saved Trevor's life."
"At the moment, our prayers have been answered and Trevor is safely on his means again to america," the assertion mentioned.
Newsweek beforehand reached out to Reed's household for remark.
Within the assertion following Reed's launch, Biden additionally spoke about Paul Whelan, one other former U.S. Marine who's at the moment detained in Russia on accusations of espionage.
"We cannot cease till Paul Whelan and others be a part of Trevor within the loving arms of household and pals," Biden mentioned.
WNBA star Brittney Griner additionally stays in Russia's custody after she was arrested on the Moscow airport in February 2022. Russian authorities mentioned hashish oil was present in her baggage. Griner spent seven seasons with UMMC Ekaterinburg, an elite Russian girls's basketball workforce, and was returning to Ekaterinburg on the time of her arrest.
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