OREANDA-NEWS. The US Embassy sent a note of protest to the Russian Foreign Ministry in connection with the denial of access to convicted American citizen Trevor Reed, who was previously diagnosed with COVID-19. Bartle Gorman, US Charge d'Affaires to the Russian Federation, announced this on Friday.

Earlier, the press service of the Moscow Federal Penitentiary Service, RIA Novosti, reported that Reed recovered and was discharged from the prison hospital, where he was treated for COVID, and he received full medical assistance.

"On June 10, after 16 days without consular access to imprisoned US citizen Trevor Reed, the US Embassy in Moscow sent a diplomatic note to the Foreign Office protesting against denying us access," Gorman said in a statement to RIA Novosti. It is also noted that Reed, "who was diagnosed with COVID-19 on May 25, has repeatedly refused to make phone calls to his family and embassy staff."

“Our constant requests for access to our citizen and information about his medical condition are ignored, which is in clear violation of both the bilateral Consular Convention and the international Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. We insist that this shameless attempt to isolate Mr. Reed from both his family, and from the government of his country was immediately terminated, "- said in his statement the deputy head of the American diplomatic mission.

According to the investigators, a US citizen Reed, who was visiting Moscow, had a fight on the street with two women in August 2019, and a police patrol arrived at the scene. The young man did not calm down, and they decided to take him to the department - on the way he hit one policeman and attacked another, who was driving. Because of the brawl, the police car almost got into an accident, the prosecution notes.