Russia Releases Ailing Ex-Marine Gilman After Four Years

Former U.S. Marine Robert Gilman, 32, has been released from Russian detention after nearly four years. According to an announcement by President Donald Trump on Truth Social, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to release Gilman on humanitarian grounds without seeking any prisoner exchange in return.

Gilman is expected to arrive at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland later tonight and will then be transferred to a U.S. military hospital in Texas for medical and psychological assessment and treatment. His family, including his mother Nina, who had been attempting to see him in Russia, will reunite with him.

The release comes after significant concerns over Gilman's health. Eric Lebson, chief strategy officer of Global Reach, an advocacy group working on Gilman's case, reported that the former Marine was moved from a prison hospital to the psychiatric ward of a civilian emergency hospital earlier this year. He had been in a dissociative stupor for 47 days due to abuse suffered in prison.

Gilman was initially sentenced to three and a half years in prison after being convicted of beating a police officer while drunk on a train. His sentence was extended multiple times following convictions for attacking prison staff, culminating in a ten-year sentence last year. Concerns over his health had grown sharply in recent weeks.

According to a US official who spoke to Gilman, he is 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 confirmed. Trump stated that 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 Jared Kushner.

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 emphasized that Gilman's release was “long overdue” and highlighted that he had been “subjected to physical torture, forced medication, and provocations by Russian authorities” during his detention.

Gilman's sister, Lexie Hudson, credited President Trump and Senator Ed Markey for their efforts in securing his release. She expressed gratitude towards both individuals for their advocacy and leadership in bringing her brother back home. Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted a photo on social media of Gilman draped in an American flag surrounded by his family aboard the airplane.