Defense Of Convicted US Student In Moscow Launches Appeal Of 9-Year Prison Sentence- Court

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th August, 2020) The defense counsel of convicted US-born student Trevor Reed, who was sentenced in July to nine years in a Russian prison for attacking two law enforcement officers, has launched an appeal at Moscow's Golovinsky District Court on Tuesday, court officials told Sputnik.

"An appeal against the verdict has been registered in the court," a court official said.

Reed was detained by Moscow police in August 2019 after being involved in a drunken altercation with two women. The Texas native was found guilty of assaulting two law enforcement officers while being transported to a police station, which caused the vehicle they were traveling in to swerve erratically.

The US-born student and former Marine was sentenced to nine years in a medium-security prison and ordered to pay 100,000 rubles ($1,374) to each of the law enforcement officers who were assaulted in the incident.

US Ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, has criticized the court's decision, raising issues with the evidence put forward by prosecutors.