[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 139 (Wednesday, August 5, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S4945]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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  SENATE RESOLUTION 667--CALLING FOR THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF TREVOR 
REED, A UNITED STATES CITIZEN WHO WAS UNJUSTLY SENTENCED TO 9 YEARS IN 
                            A RUSSIAN PRISON

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

                              S. Res. 667

       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 Trevor Reed was not given a medical evaluation 
     until 10 days following his arrest;
       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     violated in the way that Trevor Reed's bail was revoked;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 a 
     prison camp even though no person had previously been 
     sentenced to more than 8 years in prison for a level II 
     crime;
       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 judge's verdict;
       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 Senate--
       (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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