Ex-marine Trevor Reed released from jail in US-Russia prisoner swap [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed was freed from prison after Russia and the U.S. had swapped prisoners.
• Reed was jailed in Russia in 2020 for allegedly assaulting a Russian police officer during a drunken night out in Moscow.
• The Marine vet was released in exchange for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian national who has been jailed in the U.S. for drug smuggling. 

Former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed has been released from prison as part of a prisoner swap deal with Russia. The Marine vet from Texas will return to the United States.

The U.S. agreed to release Konstantin Yaroshenko in exchange for Reed’s freedom. Yaroshenko is a Russian pilot who was convicted for drug trafficking and was serving a 20-year federal prison sentence in Connecticut.

In 2019. Reed was arrested in Moscow for allegedly assaulting a local police officer after a night of drinking. He was sentenced to nine years in prison for endangering the “life and health” of law enforcement.

Reed’s parents protested outside the White House last month to get President Joe Biden’s support. The president, who met Reed’s parents, confirmed the news of his release in a statement on Wednesday.

“I heard in the voices of Trevor’s parents how much they’ve worried about his health and missed his presence,” Biden said. “And I was delighted to be able to share with them the good news about Trevor’s freedom.”

Biden also thanked Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan and “many others across our government to ensure that Trevor came home safely.”

“The negotiations that allowed us to bring Trevor home required difficult decisions that I do not take lightly,” Biden continued. “His safe return is a testament to the priority my Administration places on bringing home Americans held hostage and wrongfully detained abroad.”

Biden assured that his administration would keep on working to secure the release of Paul Whelan and professional basketball player Brittney Griner from Russian prisons. Whelan is another former U.S. Marine who was arrested on espionage charges in 2018. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020. Griner has been held in Russia since February on drug charges.  

“We won’t stop until Paul Whelan and others join Trevor in the loving arms of family and friends,” the president said.

Source: Politico