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

Summary:
This resolution calls on the Russian government to immediately release Trevor Reed, a U.S. citizen, and all other political prisoners. It also condemns the Russian government's use of politically motivated imprisonment.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 67 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 67

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 22, 2021

 Mr. Cornyn submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Calling for the immediate release of Trevor Reed, a United States 
  citizen who was unjustly found guilty and 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, Russia to visit his girlfriend on May 
        16, 2019;
Whereas Moscow City Police detained Trevor Reed on August 16, 2019;
Whereas Trevor Reed was accused of endangering the lives of the police officers 
        by grabbing the arm of the police officer driving the vehicle and 
        elbowing another officer while enroute to the police station, causing 
        the vehicle to swerve;
Whereas Trevor Reed was not given food or water until approximately 72 hours 
        after his initial arrest;
Whereas Trevor Reed was not given a medical evaluation of his injuries until 10 
        days following his arrest;
Whereas the defense team representing Trevor Reed--

    (1) presented video evidence to the courts that disproved the 
statements by the police officers about supposed endangerment and 
wrongdoing; and

    (2) was denied access to additional video evidence from inside the 
police vehicle and police station that had the potential to prove Trevor 
Reed was innocent;

Whereas the police officers claimed emotional and physical damages, but they did 
        not sustain any visible injuries 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 representing Trevor Reed presented 
        59 minutes of traffic camera video from 4 traffic cameras 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 the Investigative Bureau and Golovinsky District Court Judge Dimitry 
        Arnout denied a request by Trevor Reed to investigate how his injuries 
        occurred;
Whereas, on July 30, 2020, Judge Arnout read a verdict that dismissed all 
        defense evidence, witnesses, and government experts and only considered 
        select excerpts of the statements by the police officers;
Whereas the judge sentenced Trevor Reed to 9 years in a prison camp even 
        though--

    (1) no person had previously been sentenced to more than 8 years in 
prison for similar crimes; and

    (2) lesser sentences have been given to individuals who used weapons to 
inflict life threatening injuries to police officers;

Whereas the judge also ordered Trevor Reed 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 verdict by the judge;
Whereas, after Trevor Reed was sentenced, the United States Ambassador to 
        Russia, John Sullivan, stated that--

    (1) the case by the prosecution and the evidence presented against 
Trevor Reed were ``so preposterous that they provoked laughter in the 
courtroom'';

    (2) the conviction and sentence were ``ridiculous''; and

    (3) ``justice was not even considered'';

Whereas upon appeal to the Moscow City Court, the Golovinsky District Court 
        failed to provide Trevor Reed with translated copies of the decision by 
        the court and trial transcripts as required by law; and
Whereas Judge Arnout refused to correct corrupted transcripts even after being 
        provided third-party certified corrections and ordered to do so by the 
        appeals court: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) calls on the Government of the Russian Federation 
        immediately release Trevor Reed and all other prisoners 
        arrested for political motivations;
            (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 interactions 
        with the Government of the Russian Federation, to raise the 
        case of Trevor Reed and to press for his release;
            (4) expresses support for Trevor Reed, Paul Whelan, and all 
        prisoners unjustly imprisoned in the Russian Federation;
            (5) urges the Government of the Russian Federation provide 
        unrestricted consular access to Trevor Reed while he remains in 
        detention;
            (6) until the release of Trevor Reed, calls on the 
        Government of the Russian Federation to--
                    (A) provide Trevor Reed any necessary medical 
                treatment and personal protective equipment;
                    (B) notify the United States Ambassador to Russia 
                of any medical problems or complaints that arise during 
                his detention; and
                    (C) provide the United States Embassy in Moscow 
                with full access to all of the medical records of 
                Trevor Reed;
            (7) urges the Government of the Russian Federation to 
        respect universally recognized human rights of Trevor Reed; and
            (8) expresses support to the family of Trevor Reed and a 
        commitment to bringing Trevor Reed home.
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