Russia Frees Former US Marine in Health Crisis

Russia has released Robert Gilman, a former US Marine from Massachusetts who had been held since 2022 and was reportedly in extremely poor health. Gilman was flying on a US plane to Washington, DC, on Tuesday after Russian authorities said he had been freed “from detention for humanitarian reasons,” according to Kirill Dmitriev, the special envoy for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The case had drawn attention not only because of Gilman’s status as an American detainee in Russia, but also because of the reported deterioration in his condition while in custody. Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey said on social media that Gilman had been “essentially catatonic” and suffering from a “severe case of pneumonia” before his release. Markey added that Gilman had been diagnosed about 50 days earlier with a dissociative stupor, describing it as a condition in which a person is non-responsive and unable to interact or eat.

Gilman was 28 when he was arrested after kicking a police officer while drunk aboard a train to Moscow. That arrest led to a lengthy detention that became increasingly complicated by concerns over his health. The reported medical decline made the case stand out among other disputes involving Americans held abroad, because it combined criminal charges, consular concern and a deteriorating physical condition that prompted public appeals for action.

Reuters reported that multiple doctors were tending to Gilman as he returned to the United States, and a US official said he seemed to be in good shape. While the full details of his condition were not immediately clear, the reports suggested that medical care was part of the transfer process as he left Russia and made his way home.