Ex-Marine Robert Gilman Freed After 4 Years in Russian Prison
President Trump says the seriously ill 32-year-old is on his way home and that no prisoner exchange was involved.
A former U.S. Marine who spent more than four years in a Russian prison on disputed charges has been released and is returning to the United States, President Donald Trump said Tuesday.
"I am proud to announce that American Citizen Robert Gilman, a former United States Marine, is coming HOME!" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, saying he had discussed the release with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump said Gilman had been freed "very much on a Humanitarian Basis," and that no exchange had taken place.
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who has campaigned for Gilman's release, said in an earlier statement that the 32-year-old was gravely ill. Markey said Gilman had been diagnosed about 50 days ago with a "dissociative stupor — a condition where he is non-responsive and unable to interact or eat."
"He was essentially catatonic and also suffered a severe case of pneumonia," Markey said. "We don't yet know the full details of his current condition or the long-term impact on his recovery."
Gilman had been detained since 2022, when he was convicted of beating a police officer after being removed from a train for causing a disturbance. He was initially given a sentence of three and a half years.
After that conviction, he was accused of attacking a prison inspector during a cell check, beating an investigator and assaulting a guard. He was sentenced in October 2024 to eight years and one month. His sentence was extended again last year, to 10 years, after he was found guilty of assaulting prison guards.
Gilman was one of at least 10 Americans known to be imprisoned in Russia.
This article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), in accordance with our editorial policy.
