A Russian appeals court has sent Trevor Reed’s conviction and 9-year prison sentence back to a lower court, ruling that the former U.S. Marine was not allowed to properly review case materials.
The April 12 ruling by Moscow’s Second Court of Cassations was the latest twist in Reed’s case, which has drawn top-level protests and criticism from U.S. officials.
The 30-year-old from Texas has been in custody since 2019 after being charged with assaulting two Russian police officers. Convicted and sentenced a year later, Reed has denied the allegations and questioned the fairness of the judicial proceedings.
The appeals court said that, once Reed has adequately reviewed the case materials, he will be able to appeal again.
In the meantime, he will remain in custody.
Reed is currently serving his sentence in Mordovia, a region about 350 kilometers east of Moscow with a longstanding reputation for being the location of Russia's toughest prisons, including Soviet-era labor camps for political prisoners.
He participated in the April 12 hearing by video link.
As the hearing started, Reed said that he does not trust the court, arguing that his case was fabricated and facts and evidence that would prove his innocence have been ignored.
During the hearing, defense lawyer Viktoria Buklova said Reed had sustained a rib injury while in prison, though it was unclear how he was injured. She said he was being treated in a prison infirmary.
"Unfortunately, the justice that Trevor deserves has been denied,” U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan, who attended the hearing, told reporters afterward.
“His appeal was not decided today, the proceedings continue, and Trevor remains in prison for a crime he didn't commit," he said.
In recent months, Reed went on a hunger strike to protest prison conditions, including being placed in solitary confinement.
His parents have voiced concerns he may have contracted tuberculosis and that his health has been fragile.
Reed is one of three U.S. citizens currently being held in high-profile cases in Russia.
Another former U.S. Marine, Paul Whelan was sentenced by a court in Moscow to 16 years in prison in May 2020 on espionage charges. U.S. officials have called that ruling a "mockery of justice.”.
Another American whose detention by Russian authorities has drawn criticism is women’s basketball star Brittney Griner, who was arrested in February at a Moscow airport after authorities said a scan of her luggage revealed vape cartridges containing hash oil.
Griner, who played for a Russian professional basketball team, could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted on illegal-drug charges. She has pleaded innocent.