Federal
Calling for the immediate release of Trevor Reed, a United States citizen who was unjustly found guilty and sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison.
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H. Res. 186
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,
June 29, 2021.
Whereas United States citizen Trevor Reed is a resident of
Granbury, Texas, and a United States Marine Corps vet-
eran;
Whereas Trevor Reed traveled to Moscow to visit his
girlfriend in May 2019;
Whereas Moscow’s Police Service detained Trevor Reed in
August 2019;
Whereas Trevor Reed was accused of grabbing the arm of the
police officer driving the vehicle and elbowing another of-
ficer while en route to the police station, causing the ve-
hicle to swerve and therefore endangering the lives of the
police officers;
Whereas the United States Embassy in Moscow has filed nu-
merous diplomatic notes with the Russian Foreign Min-
istry regarding Trevor Reed being denied consular access,
communications, medical treatment, family visitations,
and other violations of the Vienna Convention on Con-
sular Relations;
Whereas Trevor Reed was not given food or water until ap-
proximately 72 hours after his initial arrest;
Whereas Trevor Reed was not given a medical evaluation of
his injuries until 10 days following his arrest;
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•HRES 186 EH
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 inside the police vehicle
and police station that had the potential to prove his in-
nocence, the requests for all video recordings are docu-
mented, and the existence of the other videos was con-
firmed by police officials and investigators;
Whereas the police officers claimed emotional and physical
damages, but did not sustain any visible injury, or claim
any time missed from work, and the law considers the po-
lice officers victims;
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violated in the way that Trevor Reed’s bail was revoked;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 from four traffic cam-
eras, and senior Russian Government officials analyzed
the video recordings and confirmed that the videos
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 witnesses following directly behind the police car in
a private vehicle never witnessed any dangerous move-
ment of the police car;
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•HRES 186 EH
Whereas the two police officers changed their testimonies in
writing, in their interviews, and at least three times dur-
ing defense questioning, with final answers to the judge
being ‘‘I don’t remember.’’, causing court attendees and
the judge to laugh;
Whereas the Investigative Bureau and Golovinsky District
Court Judge Arnout denied Trevor Reed’s requests to in-
vestigate how his injuries occurred;
Whereas, on July 30, 2020, Golovinsky District Court Judge
Arnout read a verdict that dismissed all defense evidence,
witnesses, and government experts and only considered
pieces of the police officers’ statements;
Whereas the judge sentenced Trevor Reed to 9 years in pris-
on 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 one year at the time of the judge’s verdict;
Whereas a Consul representing the United States Embassy in
Moscow attended all of Trevor Reed’s trial hearings;
Whereas the United States Ambassador to Russia, John Sul-
livan, upon Trevor’s sentencing, stated that the prosecu-
tion’s case and the evidence presented against Mr. Reed
were ‘‘so preposterous that they provoked laughter in the
courtroom’’, the conviction and sentence were ‘‘ridicu-
lous’’, and ‘‘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 court’s decision and trial
transcripts per law; and
Whereas the appeal court returned the case to the Golovinsky
District Court to review omissions and incorrect state-
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•HRES 186 EH
ments in the trial transcripts, and the official court audio
recordings were reviewed by the defense and the correc-
tions were certified by a third-party notarization firm,
with the result being Judge Arnout refusing to include
any corrections to the corrupted transcripts: Now, there-
fore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) calls on the Government of the Russian Federa-
tion to 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 inter-
national 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 Federa-
tion, 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 Federa-
tion to provide unrestricted consular access to Trevor
Reed while he remains in detention;
(6) until Trevor Reed’s release, calls on the Govern-
ment of the Russian Federation—
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•HRES 186 EH
(A) to provide Trevor Reed any necessary med-
ical 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 Federa-
tion 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.
Attest:
Clerk.
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