Dallas Native, Who Spent 3 Years in Russian Prison Coughing Up Blood, Sends Message to Brittney Griner

It’s been over a week since Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison. Griner has been detained in Russia since February and many sources say she was wrongfully detained. Despite calls and requests from friends and family, there has been little progress in the talks. A Dallas native who experienced a similar kind of ordeal like Griner sent a thoughtful message to her.

Trevor Reed is a Dallas native and a former US marine who spent three years in a Russian prison. Reed was arrested in 2019 and he was charged with endangering the lives of officers. But he says he was wrongfully detained and many sources have verified this. So he knows what Griner must feel like being away in a foreign country.

Reed asks Brittney Griner to hang on

Reed has been advocating for the release of US citizens wrongfully detained in foreign countries for some time now. So he took his time to address the situation with Griner in Russia. He said, “I knew that the Russians wanted to break me. What kept me going was, maybe they can take everything from me, they can cut my contact off with my family, they can take my books away, all that stuff, but they can?t ever break me.”

“I never will give up, and just kind of defying them was really a big part of what kept me going.?

?I know what it?s like to be in there now, and, you know, most people, even if they know that someone is wrongfully detained, they don?t actually know what that?s like,?

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Reed also suffered major health complications while he was in prison, and his family was worried that he had contracted tuberculosis. But later tests revealed that he did not. However, he still suffered when he didn’t receive treatment for COVID 19, he developed complications in the lungs. And this even caused him to cough up blood.

Update on Griner’s release

Despite all the talks that had been made, there was little info to go on. But recently, the Russian government admitted that there have been talks going on and they are interested in making a deal. The US government made it public that they have offered a prisoner exchange swap to Griner and another US citizen back home.

Last month, the US secretary of State made the news public that they have been in talks with Russia. And Reed says this is good news for Griner. He adds, “I think the fact that they made that public means that they are definitely taking that seriously. I?m glad to hear that that?s what they?re doing.”

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Still, these talks are gonna take some time, especially with relations between the two countries having turned sour since the Russia-Ukraine conflict. But there is still hope for Griner. According to Reed, all she has to do is hang on. And believe that they are doing everything to get her back home safely.