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The former US Marine Trevor Reed was released from a Moscow prison, after being exchanged for a Russian pilot imprisoned in the United States.
The young man from 30 years was arrested in Moscow in 2019 and accused of putting intentionally endangering the lives of government officials in the line of duty.
I am pleased that after years of wrongful detention by the Russian government, Trevor Reed has been freed and reunited with his family. We thank our partners for their cooperation and help to free Trevor.— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) April 27, 2022
The Russian police said Reed got drunk and allegedly grabbed an officer’s arm as he was being led to a station, claims US officials dismissed as “absurd.”
The former marine was sentenced to nine years in prison .
The official Russian news agency TASS reported that Reed has been exchanged for pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko in a negotiation that took place in a European country.
Yaroshenko, a convicted drug trafficker, had been behind bars in the United States. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2010.
The family de Reed said: “Today our prayers have been answered and Trevor is safe and sound on his way back to the United States.”
They said that they had been “living a nightmare” while Reed was behind bars.
The family said: “First of all, we would like to thank the president Biden for his kindness, consideration, and for making the decision to bring Trevor home. The president’s action may have saved Trevor’s life.”
Biden welcomed the prisoner exchange and said talks with Moscow required “difficult decisions”.
“Today, we welcome home Trevor Reed and celebrate his return to the family who missed him so much. Trevor, a former US Marine, is free from Russian detention,” Biden noted.
“I heard in the voices from Trevor’s parents how much they worried about his health and missed his presence.
“And I was delighted to be able to share the good news with them. about Trevor’s freedom”.
Last year, Russian strongman Vladimir Putin called Reed a “troublemaker” before his summit with Biden in Geneva, Switzerland.
Suggested that Reed is lucky to be alive.
Putin claimed that if he had attacked an American police officer “would have been shot to death in that place”.
He told NBC: “Your boy, the marine, is just a drunk and a troublemaker. As they say here, he licked himself and started a fight.
“Among other things, he hit a policeman. He got drunk on vodka and started a fight. He fought against a policeman. There is nothing offensive about it.
“These things happen in life. There is nothing horrible about it. It happens to our men too. Someone drinks some vodka and a fight starts. If you break the law, you go to prison,” Putin said. “What would have happened if he had fought with a policeman, if he had hit a policeman in his country? He would have been shot to death on the spot, and that’s the end of it. Is that not the case?”
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