A loud international scandal, which lasts for the second year between the United States and Russian Federation for the strange “drunk case” of the US Marine Trevor Reed and his family.
It looks like when Russian military jets do not harass NATO aircrafts and ships, their guardians of the law capture American citizens instead. Cos you know, “It’s boring, girls”…
If briefly, an American meets Russian, falls in love, travels to Russia, drinks alcohol, and wakes up in prison, charged with 9 years. A little bit of dark humor from me: I think this could be the best anti-ad for any American marriage agency willing to find a “Russian wife” for their clients, ever imaginable. I mean after such cases as Anna Chapman, Maria Butina, etc, there probably must be a big warning sign for any American still believing in the so-called “Russian mysterious soul…”.
As a journalist, I will ask questions and I will express my opinions. My vision of this case might not be appealing to everyone. But as an independent journalist and not a marionette, I will be speaking up my mind, and guess what, I rarely make mistakes.
The long version of this case regarding what Trevor’s official website says and from the interview of his girlfriend for the Russian media FLB.RU: as it follows from the case materials, a 28-year-old (*then) student of the University of Northern Texas Trevor Reed is accused of attacking two senior sergeants of the Moscow Police. The case was initiated against him under Part 2 of Art. 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “The use of violence against the representative of the authorities dangerous to their life or health”, providing for up to 10 years in prison. According to investigators, on the night from 15 to 16 August 2019, Trevor Reed being “in the state of alcohol intoxication, grabbed the police officer, as a result of which the car turned out from the trajectory of the movement”, by the way, the reason why Trevor was on the way to the police station and not to the ambulance is also worth to pay attention to.
According to The New York Times, before studying at the university, Reed served in the US Marine Corps. In May 2019, he flew to Moscow to “learn Russian language and spend some time with his Russian girlfriend Alina Tsybulnik, who he met during his holidays in Greece.”. According to the relatives of the student, on August 15 at the colleagues’ party of Alina, he was offered to drink some vodka, as a result, he does not remember anything.
(«Russian Court Further Detains Ex-Marine on Charges His Family Calls False» (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/25/world/europe/russia-trevor-reed.html))
According to The New York Times, it is suggested that some substances, without his knowledge, could have been added to Reed’s drinks “and it was appealed to the Presidential Administration with a request to pay attention to this case.”.
THE STRANGE VODKA CASE.
Reed and his Russian girlfriend were together at the corporate party of the Moscow Board of Lawyers (she herself is a professional lawyer…). Alina says that some moment she saw that Trevor could not stand on his feet. They were frightened. And her colleague that brought them by car (who has three children, and was very hurrying home, and Alina’s battery was discharged) called a friend lawyer for advice: “It’s 1 am. What should we do?” they were told: the ambulance will not come for the drunk person, call “02” (police). Like, according to the law, the police are obliged to deliver him to the sobering-up station, and in the morning she will pick him up…
THE STRANGELY NAIVE LAWYER.
I have a question about Alina. She lives her whole life in Russia. How did she not know that Russians drink a lot? And why did she not take care of Reed, so that he as someone not familiar with Russian booze, would not drink to the unconscious state? Didn’t she know how this booze would end? Isn’t it, a little bit too naive, for being, especially,…a lawyer…in Russia, and not foreseeing the events?
Russians drink a lot, and it knows the whole world (this is not a reproach, but just a remark, there is nothing shameful or terrible about it, these are just Russian traditions), and then, after the booze, Russians usually return home…even when they “can’t stand on their feet”, but never to the police station (unless there’s been a huge fight or incident). And I’m sure, Alina is perfectly aware of this, as she lives her whole life in Russia.
My Russian boyfriend, Alina, a (journalist), drank so much, that sometimes I had to “drag” him home (with the help of the hotel security where we usually have stayed in Moscow), in order to place him to bed, he then fell on a bed and slept his alcohol away (lol). But it had never ever passed through my mind to send my boyfriend to the police, FSB, or sobering-up station because I love him and I knew that he needs to sleep and drink some water in the middle of the night… It’s amazing how Alina thought that it’s a “good idea” to literally pass her American (!) fiancé to the paws of the FSB while being herself a lawyer and knowing the law system of this country.
MORNING AT THE POLICE AND THE BEGINNING OF THE INTERNATIONAL SCANDAL.
When Alina returned she saw her boyfriend was seriously beaten. He was sitting handcuffed on the chair, with his nose bluish and swollen, he had a big bruise on a cheekbone, on the hip, and under the knees… She began asking police officers what happened, but they did not communicate with her. Then several FSB officers arrived, and Alina says as she understood it was a regular procedure, cos he’s a foreign citizen who was detained, but, she says, he was interrogated without a lawyer and without a translator, how’s that possible. When she said that she was his official interpreter (?) (* it is not entirely clear what the “official Trevor’s interpreter means” and where this position was fixed?) she said that he does not know Russian, in response she heard that interpreter is not needed and that they will just have a chat with him… Alina says she knows that they searched his phone and that there are a lot of photos, where he is in the US Marines uniform, although he doesn’t serve any longer now.
I could go on and tell you all the other things I read from different sources about what happened and what has been said next during this case “birth”. But I’m sure you all have already heard about this case and I’m sure you’re all wishing Trevor to come back home to his mom and dad and his sister. That’s what we all wish for him… And I hope, after Mr.President Biden will read my article again, he will remember that this case can not afford such luxury as procrastination, Trevor Reed has been sick with COVID 19 in a Russian jail, his mom is extremely worried and is writing about it on Twitter.
Trevor’s girlfriend, unfortunately, does not post anything about her visiting Trevor or at least any activity she could show in order to publicly support her fiance… For unknown reasons, we did not find any activity on her social media, except that she’s not only a great lawyer but also works in a dating agency, in Russia, providing dating services and coaching on dating and marriage. Also, it looks like Alina changed her surname to Rochal (nee Tsybulnik), she looks pretty happy and determined at her federal projects presentations and has no sign of broken heart or pain for her jailed fiance at least it has not been noticed by our humble journalistic team.
IS TREVOR REED A FUTURE JOHN McCAIN? GOD, WE HOPE SO.
FROM TREVOR REED OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
Trevor Reed, American, Veteran, Eagle Scout, Student. Trevor R. Reed is a resident of Texas, who lives in Hood County outside the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. He was arrested in Moscow Russia on August 16, 2019, and is fraudulently accused of intentionally endangering the lives of government officials in their line of duty.
Trevor is an eighth-generation Texan born in Ft. Worth. Trevor grew up in Tehachapi, California, and graduated from high school there. He is an Eagle Scout and enjoys camping, fishing, and the beach. Trevor is also a Texas Rangers baseball team fan. After graduating from high school, Trevor moved to Texas and began going to college. He later joined the U.S. Marine Corps and received an honorable discharge at the end of his service.
In 2016, Trevor met a young Russian woman who would later become his girlfriend. Her name is Alina. In 2017, Trevor returned to college and was working toward a degree in International Studies at the University of North Texas. As a requirement of his degree program, he selected Russian as a foreign language. He had always wanted to learn Russian and it was his girlfriend’s native language. Trevor wanted to be able to talk to her family in Russian. In May of 2019, Trevor traveled to Moscow to take Russian lessons and visit his girlfriend for the summer.
On the night of August 15, 2019, just one week prior to his scheduled return home, Trevor and his girlfriend attended a party for some people that worked in her office. Trevor was encouraged to drink a large amount of Vodka and apparently became inebriated. There is also a possibility that he may have been given other substances without his knowledge, but we have no indication of this other than the fact that he has no memory of anything. He has no memory of the evening past drinking vodka and being asked to toast many times. In the early morning hours of August 16, they asked to share a ride home with some people from the party.
Trevor reportedly became nauseated and wanted to get out of the vehicle. When the car stopped, he exited the vehicle and started running around near a busy boulevard late at night. People with Trevor called the police for assistance. When the police arrived, they reported he was “in the condition of strong intoxication considering his shaky gait, rambling speech, and a strong smell of alcohol. Reed waved his hands, shouted incoherent words, and behaved inadequately”. The police took him to the police station instead of taking him to a medical facility which is reportedly the official procedure for this type of situation for Moscow residents. His girlfriend, and the others, followed closely behind the police vehicle on its way to the police station.
After arriving at the police station early in the morning of August 16, Trevor was acting very intoxicated and nauseated. Trevor’s girlfriend called his parents from the police station to alert them of his arrest. Once he was inside the station, police personnel advised his girlfriend to come back in a few hours at about 09:00 a.m. and pick Trevor up. It was assumed that he was not being charged with any crime.
Trevor’s girlfriend returned to the jail at the specified time, possibly with a family member, Trevor was being interviewed by the Russian Federal Security Services (FSB) without an attorney or adequate interpreter while he was probably still under the influence. Around this time, she was also told that Trevor was now being charged with a serious crime of intentionally endangering the lives and health of the police officers that brought him to the station. Trevor’s girlfriend called his parents to tell them of the changing situation and new serious charges against him. The parents immediately contacted the American Embassy in Moscow and informed personnel of the situation and location where Trevor was being detained. The State Department American Citizens Services (ACS) personnel said they would confirm his arrest with the Russian authorities. Later that Friday, an individual called the Embassy several times to report that Trevor was being injured and needed help.
On Saturday, August 17, Trevor was brought before a judge to determine if and where he would be detained until his trial. The judge ordered him held in pre-trial detention jail without bail. This decision would later be appealed and temporarily overturned in an appellate court.
Sunday-Monday, August 18-19, Trevor was moved to another jail. Then Trevor was moved to Sizo-5 Pre-Trial Detention Center where he is still jailed.
THE MONSTROUS CHARGES AGAINST TREVOR REED
PART 2 of ARTICLE 318 of The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
The use of violence dangerous to the life and health against a government official in the performance of their duties. An act punishable by up to ten years imprisonment.
TREVOR IS ACCUSED OF CAUSING THE POLICE VEHICLE TO SWERVE DANGEROUSLY ENDANGERING OFFICER’S LIVES
He is accused of grabbing the right arm of the driver causing him to swerve dangerously into other lanes causing the driver to slow quickly to avoid the vehicle rolling over. Trevor is also accused of striking the officer in the back seat with his elbow as the officer tried to stop Trevor from grabbing the driver.
PART 2 of ARTICLE 318 of The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
The уse of violence dangerous to the life and health against a government official in the performance of their duties. An act punishable by up to ten years imprisonment.
TREVOR IS ACCUSED OF CAUSING THE POLICE VEHICLE TO SWERVE DANGEROUSLY ENDANGERING OFFICER’S LIVES
There have been many discrepancies and changes in Trevor’s case over the past seven months. The initial “Level 2” charges claim that Trevor grabbed the arm of the police officer driving the vehicle on the way to the station endangering the lives of the police officers. This action supposedly resulted in the police vehicle swerving radically into the oncoming lane and causing the driver to “reduce speed sharply” before the vehicle overturned or collided with another vehicle according to the police officers’ initial reports and testimonies. Trevor is also accused of striking a police officer with his elbow when the officer attempted to stop Trevor from pulling the arm of the driver.
TREVOR IS ALSO CHARGED WITH AN ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENSE OF NOT BEING PROPERLY REGISTERED LIVING AT HIS GIRLFRIEND’S APARTMENT
Trevor also had charges placed against him for not being properly registered at his girlfriend’s apartment. There was some difficulty in making this happen due to the required procedures. It is sometimes difficult to get registration through the owners of a rented residence. Trevor reportedly signed a paper admitting to not being properly registered the morning of his arrest without an interpreter. There may be some other irregularities about this charge. The administrative case is usually punishable by a fine. The court hearing for this charge is to take place after the next full day of the trial. It was scheduled to occur on March 11, after the trial hearing, but there was a bomb scare at the courthouse and the building was evacuated and courts canceled. It has been postponed along with the regular trial since that date.
CASE DETAILS
THE CRIMINAL CASE AGAINST TREVOR HAS MANY DISCREPANCIES, MISTAKES, AND IRREGULARITIES!
Some of the main points that have been discussed by the Defense so far include video evidence and the lack of video evidence being provided, conflicting reports of when and why Trevor was handcuffed or not handcuffed, the reporting of Trevor’s injuries, and questions regarding the actual charges placed against Trevor by whom and when?
VIDEO EVIDENCE
VIDEO EVIDENCE DISPUTES THE REPORTED EVENT
Trevor is accused of grabbing the arm of the police officer driving him to the police station and then elbowing the officer sitting in the backseat with him. Some of the official reports stated that due to Trevor grabbing the driver’s arm, the police vehicle swerved radically into the oncoming lane and had to slow quickly to keep from turning over. Traffic video obtained by the defense reportedly does not show the police vehicle swerving at all in the area where the incident supposedly occurred. The video reportedly does show the car with Trevor’s girlfriend and others following closely behind the police car. The people in the car following the police vehicle have reported they never saw the police vehicle swerve on the way to the police station.
VIDEO EVIDENCE NOT PROVIDED TO THE DEFENSE
Within a few days of Trevor’s arrest, the defense team reportedly requested police video from the police vehicle, outside the police station, and inside the police station. For reasons not disclosed by the defense, it is our understanding that the Investigator refused the defense request for these videos. The defense believes the Investigator knew there were videos and did not ask the police for them until several weeks later after the police say the videos had been erased per normal procedures. The defense believes these tapes would have exonerated Trevor.
HANDCUFFS / RESTRAINTS
TREVOR WAS NOT HANDCUFFED IN THE POLICE CAR. IF HE WAS VERY INTOXICATED OR IF HE WAS UNCOOPERATIVE, WHY NO HANDCUFFS?
The police reports and witnesses said that Trevor was not handcuffed when he was placed into the police vehicle. The initial police reports stated Trevor’s condition as being very intoxicated with an unsteady gait and severely slurred and incomprehensible speech. The initial police reports (translated into English) did not mention Trevor being physically forced into the police vehicle. Later police reports suggested that Trevor had to be forcibly placed into the police vehicle. If Trevor was extremely intoxicated and/or forced to get into the police vehicle, why was he not restrained?
REGISTRATION / CHARGES
IMPROPER REGISTRATION? (Administrative Case Against Trevor)
At some point, Trevor was charged with a minor violation of not being properly registered at his girlfriend’s apartment. It is our understanding that there are irregularities with documents that Trevor supposedly signed admitting he was not properly registered. There are questions regarding notes and signatures along with Trevor reportedly not having an interpreter present when asked to sign documents. This violation is part of the reasoning used to deny Trevor’s bail.
QUESTIONS REGARDING THE CHARGES AGAINST TREVOR AND THE MANNER IN WHICH HE WAS DETAINED
There are some questions regarding what charges were initially used to detain Trevor for the first 24 hours. The emergency call was reportedly dispatched as “Hooliganism”. But it is believed that Trevor was initially charged with an administrative violation of not being properly registered (registration of residence location). We are told that this charge was not actually documented until later and may have been written by someone else. There appears to be some confusion as to what charges he was actually being held on initially. Why would there be confusion?
TREVOR’S INJURIES
TREVOR HAD INJURIES FOLLOWING HIS ARREST!
Trevor had some obvious injuries seen by witnesses the morning of the arrest and also by State Department personnel that visited him in jail several days after his initial arrest. The State Department was denied visitation with him on the Monday following his Friday arrest. The State Department was told they could come and pick up their jail visitation pass but when they arrived to get the pass, they were told they would have to wait a few more days before they could visit Trevor. No reason for the approved visit and then denial were given. When the State Department personnel finally visited Trevor, he had a couple of visible bruises and he said other injuries had subsided. He did not remember how he received the injuries. A doctor’s physical examination was reportedly not requested by the investigator until ten days after Trevor’s arrest. There are no records of a physical examination at either of the first two jails Trevor was held at.
Comment by American novelist and journalist of PREVAIL podcast GREG OLEAR:
“The charges against Trevor Reed are complete and total bullshit. He appears to have been targeted because he is an American citizen and for no other reason. Even for that ridiculous government’s sham of a legal system, this was an egregious miscarriage of justice.”
Comment by American journalist SOFIA TERESHCHENKO:
“As an American accredited journalist, I’m officially asking Mr.President Joe Biden to immediately begin negotiations with Russian Federation about returning conditions for the US Marine Trevor Reed, HOME, to the United States.”
Sofia Tereshchenko