Parents of former Marine held in Russia urge Moscow to provide proof of life

The parents of former Marine Trevor Reed urged the Russian government to provide proof of life for their son, saying they had not received any updates from him since last Friday.

“Trevor’s most recent proof-of-life came on April 1st, when authorities last allowed him to call his girlfriend. It has now been five days without any updates at all on Trevor’s rapidly declining health and with each passing hour, we are more and more worried that something terrible has happened,” Joey Reed and Paul Reed said in a statement shared through family spokesperson Jonathan Franks.

“We are urgently calling on the Russian government to provide proof-of-life and resume allowing Trevor to call us. Our son is critically ill — this is not the time for cruelty for cruelty’s sake,” they added.

His family has said he was protesting the conditions inside his jail in Russia by going on a hunger strike. Reed’s parents said they could not confirm if their son was moved to a prison hospital within Russia, ended his hunger strike or received medical care in prison.

His parents have urged the Biden administration to bring their son home, saying they believed a prisoner swap may be the only way to bring Reed back to the United States.

The State Department said in a statement to The Hill that Biden has been “very clear” in his calls for Trevor Reed and Paul Whelan, another American imprisoned in Russia, to be released.

“Their release remains an absolute priority. We continue to engage the Russian government on these cases,” it said.

In 2019, the former Marine received a nine-year sentence for allegedly striking a police officer during a drunken incident. The U.S. has objected to his detention and Reed has been unable to appeal the sentence. 

President Biden met last week with Reed’s parents after they protested outside of the White House.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said earlier this week that the U.S. was also concerned about the former Marine’s health.

“We are concerned by reports that Trevor Reed’s health is deteriorating. We continue to call on Russian officials to provide adequate medical care immediately, or otherwise to release him to the United States to receive the care that he needs,” Price said.

The Hill has reached out to the White House, State Department and Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment. 

Updated: 10:21 p.m.