'Our anxiety is ever increasing': Trevor Reed's father discusses son's deteriorating health in Russian prison
GRANBURY, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) -- The parents of Trevor Reed, the U.S. Marine veteran who's been held in a Russian prison since 2019, said they can't confirm reports that their son has ended his second hunger strike after being transferred to a prison with a medical facility.
In an interview Monday afternoon, Reed's father Joey said, "Our anxiety is ever increasing over a two-year eight-month period."
Reed and his wife Paula, who live in Granbury, are urging Russia to let their son call them at home.
They believe their son has tuberculosis because he has continued to have the symptoms of coughing up blood and losing his appetite. Left untreated, they worry time is running out.
Joey Reed said they remain in the dark.
"We don't know anything past that. We don't know what's happening," he said.
The Reeds had been pressing the White House for a meeting with President Joe Biden. After standing outside where he was set to speak in Fort Worth March 8, President Biden called them and assured him his staff would set up a meeting.
Last week, the Reeds staged a protest in front of the White House after they said they didn't hear from the staff. Hours later, they got a call and a meeting with the president.
"The President listened intently to everything we had to say," Joey Reed said. "He was just wonderful man to speak with. Hopefully, we convinced them that we need to get our son out of there before it's too late."
When asked if the president made any commitments or promises to them, he said, "No and if I was him, I would not either. He's dealing with more things than any single person in the world, and we understand that."
In July 2020, Trevor Reed was sentenced to nine years in prison after being convicted for assaulting two Russian police officers while drunk. He was in Russia visiting his longtime girlfriend.
Reed spent five years in the U.S. Marines and was part of the Presidential Guard program. He was stationed at Camp David, where he met former President Barack Obama.
Joey Reed said they would like to see the United States and Russia swap prisoners.
"Their prisoners are living in wonderful conditions in our federal penitentiaries with modern facilities and dietary meals, and they're warm, and they're cool, and they've got great clothing and cable TV and can call home every week in their native language," he said. "My son is in a third world gulag, you know, using a hole in the floor for a toilet and not seeing another person for weeks. We need to get Americans like him out of those places and we're hoping that they'll bring my son home."
Reed praised the U.S. Embassy for constantly prodding the Russian government to provide better care for his son and to release him.
He said Texans and Americans can help by telling others about his son's story and emailing the White House to bring him home.