Parents of former US Marine held in Russia fear he has tuberculosis and suffered a broken rib during 'some sort of accident' in prison

• The parents of former US Marine Trevor Reed are worried their son has contracted tuberculosis in prison.
• Reed has been detained in a Russian prison since August 2019 after being accused of assaulting police officers in Moscow.

The parents of Trevor Reed — a former US Marine who has been held in Russia since 2019 after being convicted of attacking Russian police officers — told Brianna Keilar on CNN's New Day that they fear their son has tuberculosis and a broken rib after an "accident" in a Russian prison.

Joey and Paula Reed had not heard from their son for 232 days, Joey said, but he was able to call home three times over the course of the last week.

"He's been sounding horrible," Joey told CNN on Wednesday. "He's coughing constantly. He said he's coughing up blood,"

Joey said he also has a high fever, pain in his chest — "just all of the signs of tuberculosis, which we're afraid he's contracted."

Joey said that the family has gotten "even worse news." Trevor was barely able to talk on their latest call on Wednesday morning.

"There was some sort of accident and he believes he might have broken a rib," Joey told CNN.

Trevor's parents said he claimed something fell on him in the barracks, where he has been staying after finally being released from solitary confinement.

Trevor told his parents the prison guards told him he can go to a hospital on Friday.

While Paula is confident her son is telling them the truth, Joey remains skeptical of what Trevor can tell them.

"His calls are always monitored," Joey told CNN.

Trevor has been held in Russia since he was convicted of an alleged drunken incident which he claims not to remember. He was sentenced to 9 years in prison in July 2020.

Joey and Paula staked out President Biden's motorcade near their home in Texas to hold signs that say "Free Trevor Reed." After acknowledging them from the motorcade, the Reeds said Biden then called the couple.

"I don't want you to think it's not something I constantly think about," the President reportedly told the couple over the phone.

Paula said the phone call, as well as an acknowledgment from Biden in the motorcade, made her feel "validated."

Paula said that the war in Ukraine has helped draw attention to their son's situation, but it has come at "a horrible cost" of the suffering of the Ukrainian people.