Robert Gilman, a 32-year-old former U.S. Marine held in Russian custody for more than four years, was released on humanitarian grounds and flown to a military hospital in Texas, but only after his health collapsed to the point that advocates feared he would not survive.
Gilman arrived at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio this week after spending 1,666 days in Russian detention, much of it under conditions his advocates describe as physical torture. President Trump announced the release on Truth Social, confirming he had discussed the case directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that Russia asked for nothing in return. No prisoner exchange took place.
The former Marine and Massachusetts teacher had been arrested on January 17, 2022, in the Russian city of Voronezh on charges of assaulting a police officer, charges his family disputes. His original sentence of three and a half years was extended multiple times, eventually reaching ten years, after Russian authorities accused him of attacking prison guards. His supporters deny those allegations as well.
By the time diplomatic pressure finally produced results, Gilman was in catastrophic condition. Eric Lebson, the chief strategy officer at Global Reach, the organization that worked to secure his freedom, said Gilman had been held in a Russian hospital in a "dissociative stupor," unable to eat and fed through a tube. Fox News reported Gilman had been in a near-catatonic state and fed through a nasal tube, with his family fearing he might die in Russian custody.
AP News reported the stupor had lasted approximately 47 days. Gilman was handcuffed to a hospital bed during that period. He also suffered severe pneumonia.
Lebson told CBS News that Gilman's case was unlike anything his organization had encountered.
"The situation with Robert is far beyond anything we have seen with any other American detained in Russia."
Lebson also alleged that during his imprisonment, Russian authorities subjected Gilman to harassment, forced exercise sessions lasting up to 16 hours, and the administration of psychotropic drugs. He further claimed Gilman had been pressured to fight in Ukraine. CBS News noted it had not independently verified those claims of mistreatment.
Kieran Ramsey, Global Reach's chief investigative officer and a former head of the FBI Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, spoke to CBS News on Thursday and did not hold back about how close Gilman came to dying before anyone acted decisively.
"We had to wait 'til almost we were on death's door with him to be able to spur the right kind of action that got his release. And we're just thankful he's back on U.S. soil right now."
Ramsey said Gilman was now "getting the world's best medical care" at Brooke Army Medical Center. But his frustration with the pace of the process was plain. A man who served his country in the Marines spent more than four and a half years locked up on disputed charges, and his release came only when his body began shutting down.
Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts echoed that frustration. As Breitbart reported, Markey said Gilman had been "subjected to physical torture, forced medication and provocations by Russian authorities" throughout his detention.
"It is a tragedy that it took Robert's near-death condition for his case to receive the attention that it required for his release to be negotiated."
That statement raises a fair question: why did it take this long? Gilman was detained in early 2022. His sentence kept growing. His health kept declining. And for years, his case drew far less public attention than higher-profile detainees held in Russia.
The Trump administration moved on the case after Gilman's condition became critical. An unnamed State Department spokesperson told CBS News the administration had raised Gilman's case with the Russian government "repeatedly" and requested his release on humanitarian grounds given his health concerns.
Trump confirmed the outcome on Truth Social, writing that Russia had agreed to release Gilman "very much on a Humanitarian Basis" following his discussions with Putin. He emphasized that no prisoner exchange was involved, a pointed contrast with previous administrations' handling of Americans held abroad.
As the New York Post reported, Trump also noted that his administration had "prioritized bringing home Americans Detained Abroad, and have done so at a level never seen before, returning hundreds of people to their families." The administration had already secured the release of several other Americans held in Russia prior to Gilman's case.
Trump spoke with Gilman personally during his flight home. Gilman's one request upon landing: a cheeseburger.
Gilman's sister, Lexie Hudson, credited Trump directly for saving her brother's life.
"I am so grateful to President Trump for saving my brother's life. There is no other reason that Robert is alive today other than that President Trump heard about the case and took action."
Gilman's release does not close the book on Americans held in hostile foreign custody. Ramsey made that clear in his CBS News interview, rattling off the numbers that should keep this issue in the headlines.
"We have 10 others in Russia. We have two designated in Iran. We have one designated in China. Let's hope that he's able to bring all of these folks home as soon as possible."
Those figures put the scope of the problem in sharp relief. Gilman's case drew attention because he nearly died. But ten other Americans sit in Russian custody right now, along with detainees in Iran and China. Their conditions are unknown to the public. Their names, in most cases, are unfamiliar.
Gilman's ordeal also exposes a pattern in how Russia handles American detainees. His original charge, allegedly kicking a police officer while intoxicated, which his family says was the result of illness, not intent, carried a sentence of three and a half years. Russian authorities extended it repeatedly, ultimately tripling it to ten years on additional accusations his supporters reject. The escalation looks less like justice and more like leverage.
Several key questions remain unanswered. What specific diplomatic steps finally broke the case loose? What is Gilman's precise medical diagnosis beyond the general descriptions of stupor and pneumonia? And why did Russian authorities not respond publicly to the allegations of forced drugging, 16-hour exercise sessions, and pressure to enlist in the war in Ukraine?
For now, Gilman is alive and on American soil. He is receiving care at one of the military's premier medical facilities. His family has him back. That is the good news, and it is real.
But a Marine veteran spent four and a half years in a foreign prison on disputed charges, was allegedly drugged and tortured, and came home only when his body was giving out. The fact that it took a near-death crisis to get him released is not a success story, it is a warning about the ten Americans still waiting.
