Russia frees ex-US Marine Robert Gilman for ‘humanitarian reasons’
Moscow has released ex-US Marine Robert Gilman, who had been incarcerated in Russia since 2022, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed American officials. The move was made for “humanitarian reasons,” the officials noted.
Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, a key figure in negotiations with Washington, appeared to confirm the report by reposting the news on social media.
Gilman has reportedly already been flown out of Russia on a State Department plane after being granted a presidential pardon over his deteriorating mental health. The ex-marine’s lawyer, Irina Brazhnikova, told Russian media it is “highly likely” that her client has been released.
The 32-year-old US national was detained in Russia in early 2022 after drunkenly assaulting a police officer while traveling through the country by train. Gilman, who served with the Marine Corps for a year between 2019 and 2020, is the son of a Russian immigrant to the US.
Gilman was initially sentenced to 4.5 years for the assault, with the term reduced to 3.5 years by a higher court. However, the US national reportedly grew increasingly violent while in a penal colony, and was handed an additional seven years of incarceration in 2024 over repeated assaults on jail officials. Last month, Gilman was transferred from the colony to a civilian psychiatric ward reportedly in a catatonic-like state described as a “dissociative stupor.”
Gilman is now slated to be transferred to a hospital in Texas for medical evaluation and treatment, AP reported, citing sources.
The US is said to have sought Gilman’s release for some time, with the issue raised during a recent meeting between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Thus far, neither Moscow nor Washington has officially confirmed the release of the US national.
