Trevor Reed Said About The Arrest Of WNBA Basketballkeeper Brittney Griner: All Courts In Russia Are Fake And Appeals Take Years!

Britney Griner (Instagram @brittneyyevgriner)

JAKARTA - Former US Marines who previously spent three years in Russian prison told Britney Griner and Paul Whelan to remain patient and trust the United States Government.

Trevor Reed, who was released in April, shared advice with Griner and Whelan and also called Russia's legal system "false".

WBNA star Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison after Russian authorities found him guilty of smuggling drugs into the country.

There is concern that he was used as a political pawn in the background of US opposition to war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, former US Marine Whelan was sentenced to 16 years in prison on charges of espionage by a Moscow court in 2020.

"Just wait there, know that people are fighting for you," Reed told CBS, when discussing Griner and Whelan.

"While you are there, you will meet with lawyers, there is plenty of time to wait.

"You may ask lawyers to find new evidence to appeal the previous court ruling during that time, and the appeal could basically take years.

"But in the end all the appeals were false, as fake as the first trial you received. All courts in Russia are fake."

Why was Trevor Reed imprisoned in Russia?

Like Griner, Reed was sentenced to nine years in prison, in his case for allegedly assaulting a police officer in 2019.

The sentence came under widespread criticism from the US. The American ambassador to Russia was present in the courtroom during the trial and called the process "absurd".

He said the judge laughed in the courtroom and, despite the many security cameras that were supposed to catch the incident, Russian authorities said there were no recordings.