Trevor Reed, the American student imprisoned in Russia, ends hunger strike after two weeks

American student Trevor Reed, sentenced in Russia to nine years in prison for assaulting police officers, ended the hunger strike he had been on since November 4, his lawyer reported.

"Trevor has left the hunger strike," said a representative of the defense of the American this Wednesday (11.17.2021), quoted by the Interfax agency.

The American's lawyers previously said the hunger strike was intended to draw attention to "major violations of his rights" at the prison.

The 29-year-old American, a student at the University of North Texas and a former US Navy infant, arrived in Russia on a tourist visa and was living in his girlfriend's apartment.

He allegedly resisted, in a drunken state, his arrest by the Police, who received a call from some neighbors about an argument between a citizen and two women.

Reed did not admit his guilt and argued before the judge that he did not remember what happened on the day of the events because he was drunk.

The US ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, described the trial of his compatriot, held in a jail in the republic of Mordovia, in the European part of the country, as "absurd" and indicated that Reed was convicted based on "such ridiculous evidence , that even the judge laughed in court. "

Both Sullivan and the head of the US State Department, Antony Blinken, called for Reed's release and stated that the diplomatic authorities of both countries are in talks about the future of the condemned student.

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