Russia extends detention of ex-US marine over alleged assault

A Moscow court has ruled that a former US marine accused of drunkenly assaulting Russian police officers six months ago last summer must remain in custody.

Trevor Reed, 28, from Texas, was arrested in Moscow in August. But his case, which could be another irritant in strained US-Russian ties, was not made public until reports late on Tuesday by the New York Times and the TASS news agency.

The court confirmed Reed's detention on its website on Wednesday, saying his case would next be heard in court on March 11.

Reed's lawyer and family could not immediately be reached for comment. The charge against him carries a penalty of up to 10 years in jail.

Reed is accused of attacking police officers in a car after they detained him at an address where he was inebriated, TASS cited case materials as saying. He denied the allegations during a preliminary investigation, it said.

Reed's father told the New York Times that he and the defense believed the allegations to be false. He called on the US government to look into the case.

The US embassy in Moscow did not immediately comment, but said it had passed on a Reuters request for comment to Washington.

The New York Times cited a statement from Reed's relatives saying the former US Marine had visited Moscow in May to learn Russian and spend time with his Russian girlfriend, whom he had met in Greece.

It said police had been summoned after a party on Aug. 15 where Reed had drunk vodka and grown agitated. Reed's girlfriend and others had called the police to prevent him getting hurt, it said.

Moscow's relations with Washington are at post-Cold War lows and have been further strained by two prominent cases against US nationals.

They include embezzlement charges against US investor Michael Calvey, who is being held under house arrest, and the case of Paul Whelan, a former US marine accused of espionage who has been held in custody since his arrest in December 2018.

Both deny the charges against them.