Ex-US Marine Near Death Freed By Russia

Russia has freed former US Marine Robert Gilman, who was jailed in 2022 and was reportedly in extremely poor health, after President Vladimir Putin granted him a pardon on humanitarian grounds. Gilman is being flown to the US for medical treatment.

Gilman was being held in a prison in Voronezh, about 340 miles south of Moscow. He was sentenced to 4-1/2 years in prison in 2022 for allegedly kicking a police officer while drunk. However, his family and the US government had urged Moscow to release him due to his poor health.

Gilman's family had claimed that he was unable to communicate, his eyes remained shut, and he was being fed through a feeding tube. He had been in a 'dissociative stupor' for 47 days due to the abuse he suffered in prison. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had raised Gilman's case with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a meeting in the Philippines.

Gilman will be evaluated by four doctors on the flight and will be greeted by US officials, including Steve Witkoff and Sebastian Gorka, upon arrival at Washington Dulles Airport. He will then be flown to a rehabilitation center in San Antonio, Texas, for further medical treatment.

What happens next Gilman's release comes after his family had appealed to the Russian authorities for his release, warning that he was “near death” following months of alleged torture in prison. The exact circumstances of his health are unclear, but his family and advocacy groups had expressed concerns about his well-being.

Background Gilman, a former US Marine and English teacher, was arrested in January 2022 in Voronezh after an incident in which he was accused of assaulting a police officer. A court sentenced him to two years in prison that October, and he was later handed an additional sentence for allegedly attacking guards at the correctional facility where he was being held.