Russia has released Robert Gilman, an American veteran who had been imprisoned for more than four years, a group advocating for his freedom announced Tuesday. Gilman, a 32-year-old former U.S. Marine and teacher from Massachusetts, was said to be gravely ill and at risk of dying.
Gilman is en route to a U.S. military hospital in San Antonio, Texas, where he will undergo medical and psychological evaluation and receive treatment. His family has traveled to Texas to be with him. His mother had been in Russia attempting to visit him at the hospital prior to his release.
Gilman was detained in 2022 and initially sentenced to 3 1/2 years for charges related to an incident on a train where he was accused of beating a police officer after causing a disturbance. His sentence was later extended. In October 2024, he received an eight-year, one-month sentence after being convicted of attacking a prison inspector during a cell check, beating an investigator, and assaulting a guard.
His sentence was further extended to 10 years last year after he was found guilty of assaulting prison guards. According to Eric Lebson, chief strategy officer of Global Reach, a group working for Gilman's release, the veteran had been in "a dissociative stupor" for 47 days prior to his departure from Russia due to alleged abuse suffered in prison.
Before his transfer, Gilman had been moved from a prison to a civilian hospital. Reports indicated he was handcuffed to a bed and connected to a feeding tube. U.S. Senator Edward Markey had previously called for cooperation between Russia and the United States to secure Gilman's release.
Gilman is one of at least eight Americans who have remained in Russian custody following several high-profile prisoner exchanges between the two countries in recent years.