Russia releases ex-Marine Robert Gilman

Russia has released Robert Gilman, a former US Marine from Massachusetts held in a Russian prison, and he was flying back to the United States for treatment, President Donald Trump said.

Trump said the release followed his discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that no prisoner swap took place. Russia agreed to free Gilman “very much on a Humanitarian Basis,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, according to BBC News.

Gilman was travelling with his mother, doctors and members of the administration, the BBC reported. The outlet said he was expected to arrive early on Wednesday morning at a US military hospital in Texas, where he would be assessed and treated.

Gilman’s family said his health was in “life-threatening condition” after “harsh and abusive treatment.” His sister, Lexi Hudson, said Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey helped secure the release, and Markey said Gilman had been diagnosed about 50 days earlier with dissociative stupor, a condition in which he was non-responsive and unable to interact or eat.

Gilman was arrested in January 2022 while drunk aboard a train to Moscow for allegedly kicking a police officer, and he initially received a three-and-a-half-year sentence. He was later found guilty of assaulting prison guards after allegedly attacking a prison inspector during a cell check, increasing his sentence to 10 years.

Kieran Ramsey of Global Reach, the advocacy group representing Gilman, told Reuters that Moscow realised “they’re not losing any geopolitical power position by releasing him” and called it “a humanitarian release.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States was still seeking the return of five other Americans in Russia: Aleksandr Antonov, David Barnes, Olga Jezler, Andre Khachatoorian and Chuck Zimmerman.