JULY 30, 2020 - TRIAL DAY 8
Sentencing Hearing
The hallway leading to the courtroom was full of camera crews. Family and friends were allowed to enter the courtroom before Trevor was brought in by two armed police guards. Trevor wore a medical mask for virus protection. As usual, Trevor was handcuffed with his hands behind his back. Reporters filled the courtroom as Trevor was brought inside. The guards have Trevor stand inside the barred cage and stop so they can remove the handcuffs. The door is then closed and the handcuffs are used as the lock on the cage door. A guard is then positioned at both ends of the cage. Reporters began to ask Trevor questions and he answered them.
After several minutes, the packed courtroom was called to rise and the judge entered from the front side. He wore a medical mask. The judge began to read from what looked like 25-30 printed pages. The verdict. The judge who normally spoke in a strong clear voice, spoke in a muffled voice as he read from the verdict. He read for approximately 20 minutes. Apparently, the judge dismissed the evidence introduced by the defense including the traffic videos, witnesses, and expert testimonies. The judge apparently validated the prosecution's case even though their witnesses changed their stories multiple times and the investigator's failed to include police car and security video in the case among other things.
The judge sentenced Trevor Reed to 9 years in a prison camp. He also ordered Trevor to pay each police officer 100,000 rubles for moral and physical damages. When the sentence was read, Lina broke down crying and was forcefully removed from the court by two police officers. Following the sentencing, the judge asked Trevor if he understood. The judge then immediately left the room. The media began to ask Trevor questions and he answered them until there were no more questions. Trevor said to tell his family that he would be ok. He was expecting a severe sentence even though he believes he was not guilty.
Neither officer had any visible injuries or lost any time from work. By their own testimony, the action that Trevor was accused of took less than 4 seconds. The original claims that the car radically swerved into oncoming lanes and endangered their lives was discredited by the traffic videos and government expert analysis.
According the Russian Federation government websites, even though the maximum penalty for violation of Article 312 is up to 10 years, no one has been sentenced to over 8 years since the law's last revision. According to the attorneys, police officers have been stabbed multiple times and the defendant did not receive more than 8 years in prison.