Title: Calling for the immediate release of Trevor Reed, a United States citizen who was unjustly sentenced to 9 years in a Russian prison.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution expresses support for those unjustly imprisoned in Russia, including Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed. The resolution calls for the release of Trevor Reed and calls on Russia to respect his universally recognized human rights.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1115 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1115

   Calling for the immediate release of Trevor Reed, a United States 
   citizen who was unjustly sentenced to 9 years in a Russian prison.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 16, 2020

Mr. Conaway (for himself, Mr. McCaul, Mr. McCarthy, Mr. Hurd of Texas, 
 Mr. Gohmert, Mr. Babin, Mr. Taylor, Mr. Marchant, Mr. Arrington, Mr. 
 Thornberry, Mr. Roy, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Gooden, Mr. Flores, Mr. 
Crenshaw, Mr. Veasey, Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Gonzalez of Texas, Mr. Green of 
 Texas, Mr. Castro of Texas, Ms. Granger, and Mr. Williams) submitted 
   the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                            Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Calling for the immediate release of Trevor Reed, a United States 
   citizen who was unjustly sentenced to 9 years in a Russian prison.

Whereas United States citizen Trevor Reed is a resident of Granbury, Texas, and 
        a United States Marine Corps veteran;
Whereas Trevor Reed traveled to Moscow to visit his girlfriend on May 16, 2019;
Whereas Moscow's Police Service detained Trevor Reed on August 16, 2019;
Whereas Trevor Reed was accused of grabbing the arm of the police officer 
        driving the vehicle and elbowing another officer while en route to the 
        police station, causing the vehicle to swerve and therefore endangering 
        the lives of the police officers;
Whereas the United States Embassy in Moscow has filed numerous diplomatic 
        complaints with the Russian Foreign Ministry regarding Trevor Reed being 
        denied consular, access, communications, medical treatment, family 
        visitations, and other violations of the Vienna Convention on Consular 
        Relations;
Whereas Trevor Reed's defense team presented video evidence to the courts that 
        disproves the police officers' statements of supposed endangerment and 
        wrongdoing;
Whereas Trevor Reed's defense team was denied access to additional video 
        evidence from the police vehicle and police station that had the 
        potential to prove his innocence;
Whereas the police officers claimed emotional and physical damages, but did not 
        sustain any visible injury, or claim any time missed from work;
Whereas the Constitutional Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the 
        Second Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction concurred that Russian 
        procedural law was violated in the way that Trevor Reed's bail was 
        revoked;
Whereas the United States Embassy in Moscow has filed complaints with the 
        Russian Foreign Ministry regarding denial of communications with Trevor 
        Reed;
Whereas during the trial, the defense counsel presented 59 minutes of traffic 
        camera video that showed the police car--

    (1) did not change direction or leave its lane;

    (2) did not swerve; and

    (3) did not stop or slow down;

Whereas, on July 30, 2020, Golovinsky District Court Judge Arnout read a verdict 
        that dismissed all defense evidence, witnesses, and government experts 
        and included information from the investigator's case files that were 
        not discussed or read into the court files;
Whereas the judge sentenced Trevor Reed to 9 years in prison camp and was 
        ordered to pay 100,000 rubles to each police officer for moral and 
        physical injuries;
Whereas Trevor Reed had already been detained in Russia for 1 year at the time 
        of the judge's verdict; and
Whereas, the United States Ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, upon Trevor's 
        sentencing, stated that the prosecution's case and the evidence 
        presented against Mr. Reed were ``so preposterous that they provoked 
        laughter in the courtroom'', the conviction and sentence were 
        ``ridiculous'', and ``justice was not even considered'': Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) expresses support for Trevor Reed, Paul Whelan, and all 
        prisoners unjustly imprisoned in the Russian Federation;
            (2) condemns the practice of politically motivated 
        imprisonment in the Russian Federation, which violates the 
        commitments of the Russian Federation to international 
        obligations with respect to human rights and the rule of law;
            (3) urges the United States Government, in all its 
        interactions with the Government of the Russian Federation, to 
        raise the case of Trevor Reed and to press for his release;
            (4) calls on the Government of the Russian Federation to 
        immediately release Trevor Reed and all other prisoners 
        arrested for political motivations;
            (5) urges the Government of the Russian Federation to 
        provide unrestricted consular access to Trevor Reed while he 
        remains in detention;
            (6) calls on the Government of the Russian Federation--
                    (A) to provide Trevor Reed any necessary medical 
                treatment and personal protective equipment;
                    (B) to notify the United States Ambassador to 
                Russia of any medical problems or complaints that arise 
                during his detention; and
                    (C) to provide the United States Embassy in Moscow 
                with full access to all of Trevor Reed's medical 
                records;
            (7) urges the Government of the Russian Federation to 
        respect Trevor Reed's universally recognized human rights; and
            (8) expresses support to the family of Trevor Reed and 
        commitment to bringing Trevor Reed home.
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