Russia frees ex-US Marine Robert Gilman from detention

The US government had recently designated Gilman as wrongfully detained.

A former US Marine has been freed by Russia and is due to arrive back home in the United States after being held for four years.

Robert Gilman, ۳۲, is expected to land at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, DC, on Tuesday night, US President Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform. Gilman had been detained in ۲۰۲۲ over an alleged altercation with a police officer. Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to release him “very much on a humanitarian basis”, Trump wrote, adding that no one was freed by the US in exchange for Gilman’s return.

The US had urged Moscow to release Gilman so he could receive medical treatment at home. He was being held in a prison in Voronezh, about ۵۵۰ kilometres (۳۴۰ miles) south of Moscow. The exact circumstances of his health are unclear.

A US official who spoke to Gilman said he was walking and talking. “All things considered, he seems to be in good shape,” the official said. Several doctors will evaluate him during the flight, US officials said. Gilman’s mother, Nina, is on the plane returning to the US with him, Trump said.

Trump said a team of officials from his administration had worked on securing Gilman’s release, including his envoy for hostage negotiations Adam Boehler, along with advisers Steve Witkoff, Sebastian Gorka, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. US officials said that after his arrival, Gilman is to be flown to a ⁠rehabilitation centre in San Antonio, Texas, for medical treatment.

US Senator Ed Markey, who had been working with Gilman’s family to secure his release, said in a statement that Gilman was in a “near-death” condition, after suffering a severe case of pneumonia and entering a catatonic state where he was “non-responsive and unable to interact or eat”. Markey said Gilman’s release was “long overdue” and he had been “subjected to physical torture, forced medication, and provocations by Russian authorities” during his detention.

Gilman, who served in the US Marines from August ۲۰۱۹ until August ۲۰۲۰, was travelling by train when he was arrested in January ۲۰۲۲ in Voronezh, according to an advocacy group representing his family.

He was detained for allegedly ⁠kicking a police officer while drunk, according to Russian state media. However, his father, Vladimir Gilman, who emigrated to Massachusetts from Russia, wrote in an October ۲۰۲۴ Boston ⁠Globe op-ed that the charges were false. His son, he said, had fallen ⁠ill when the incident occurred and accidentally kicked the officer. The officer was uninjured, dropped the charges and did not present evidence at Gilman’s trial, he wrote. Robert Gilman was initially sentenced to four and a half years in jail, but that sentence was extended several times as he was charged over alleged assaults while in prison.

The US government had recently designated Gilman as wrongfully detained. Gilman had been one of at least ۱۰ Americans known to be imprisoned in ‌Russia.