A court in Moscow upheld U.S. ex-Marine Trevor Reed’s nine-year prison sentence Monday, according to CBS News.
Reed is one of two Americans that U.S. authorities reportedly say are being held hostage in Russia. The 29-year-old Texan was captured after a drunken birthday party in 2019, according to CBS News. Reed was taken to sober up at a police station, according to his family.
However, after questioning, he was charged with assaulting two officers and found guilty a year later, CBS reported. He pleaded not guilty and claimed the trial was “completely political” due to the nine-year sentence, according to CBS.
We are deeply troubled by a Moscow court’s decision to uphold the nine-year jail sentence for Trevor Reed. The U.S. will continue to work on Trevor’s behalf until Russia does the right thing and returns him to his family. Trevor has been deprived of his freedom for far too long.
— Ned Price (@StateDeptSpox) June 28, 2021
“We are deeply troubled by a Moscow court’s decision to uphold the nine-year jail sentence for Trevor Reed,” said State Department spokesperson Ned Price in a tweet. “The U.S. will continue to work on Trevor’s behalf until Russia does the right thing and returns him to his family. Trevor has been deprived of his freedom for far too long.” (RELATED: ‘There Was No Crime’: American Political Prisoner In Russia Demands Biden Take Action To Free Him)
During their bilateral summit in June, Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Joe Biden discussed Reed’s case. After the discussion, Kremlin suggested that the country may be prepared to work out a deal and release the two Americans, according to CBS News.