TEXAS, USA — The parents of detained Texas Marine Trevor Reed say they were able to make indirect contact with their son over the weekend.
In a statement released Monday to ABC News, Joey and Paula Reed believe Trevor has contracted tuberculosis but they aren’t confident he’s receiving meaningful medical care.
“Trevor has been to this ‘prison hospital’ numerous times and has received no medical care. Over the past 970 days, Russian authorities have lied repeatedly about Trevor’s health status,” the statement said.
Roughly two weeks ago, they met with President Joe Biden to discuss efforts to get Trevor out of Russian custody and are urging the administration to move quickly out of concern that Trevor’s health will continue to deteriorate.
A State Department spokesperson told ABC News that they are "concerned by reports that Trevor Reed's health is deteriorating" and that they "call on Russian officials to provide adequate medical care immediately or to release him to the United States to receive the care that he needs." The release of both Trevor Reed and Paul Whelan, another former Marine held by Russia, "remains an absolute priority. We continue to engage the Russian government on these cases," the spokesperson said.
“We don’t believe there has been any meaningful improvement in Trevor’s health and continue to believe he likely has TB and is out of time,” they said.
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In the meantime, Trevor Reed's appeal is expected to be heard at the Second Court of General Cassation in Moscow.
“While we have little hope for a successful judicial outcome, we believe it’s important to continue to pursue Trevor’s appeal rights vigorously,” the parents said.
Trevor Reed has been imprisoned for almost 1,000 days on assault charges for allegedly endangering the life and health of local police officers after a night of drinking in Moscow.
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