A former U.S. Marine who spent more than four years in a Russian prison on disputed charges and is believed to be seriously ill has been released and was on Tuesday on his way back to the United States.
President Donald Trump announced the release on Truth Social, and said Robert Gilman, 32, was freed after he discussed the case with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Gilman, who was let go “very much on a Humanitarian Basis” with no exchange having taken place, would land at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., Trump said.
The president added that he had spoken to Gilman, a teacher, “and he had one request — A GREAT cheeseburger when he lands. I will take care of that!”
The Russian government has not commented on the release.
About 50 days ago, Gilman was diagnosed with a “dissociative stupor — a condition where he is non-responsive and unable to interact or eat,” Senator Ed Markey, D-Mass., said in an earlier statement.
“He was essentially catatonic and also suffered a severe case of pneumonia,” added Markey, who has been campaigning for Gilman’s release. “We don’t yet know the full details of his current condition or the long-term impact on his recovery.”
On Sunday, Gilman’s sister Lexie Hudson said she was worried that he would die if he wasn’t released.
“I’m more afraid for my brother than I have been since this horrible nightmare started,” she said in a statement according to Reuters.
Her comments came around a month after Russia’s Kommersant newspaper reported that Gilman had been admitted to a hospital. Quoting his lawyer Irina Brazhnikova, the business daily reported that he was receiving treatment but it was too early to talk about a diagnosis.
Gilman, who served in the Marines from August 2019 until August 2020, had been detained since 2022. He was initially handed a three-and-a-half year sentence for beating a police officer after being taken off a train for causing a disturbance.
After his initial conviction, Gilman was accused of attacking a prison inspector during a cell check, beating an investigator and assaulting a guard, and he was sentenced in October 2024 to eight years and one month.
Last year, his sentence was extended again to 10 years after he was found guilty of assaulting prison guards.
Gilman’s American supporters said he was ill when he was first arrested and provoked while in prison into actions that led to further charges.
According to Markey, Gilman was “subjected to physical torture, forced medication, and provocations by Russian authorities,” throughout his detention.
“There is no doubt that his treatment by Russian authorities is the reason Robert is in this precarious state today,” he added.
Gilman was one of at least 10 Americans known to be imprisoned in Russia.
