Russia on Tuesday released 32-year-old Robert Gilman after President Vladimir Putin granted a pardon on humanitarian grounds. Gilman had been imprisoned in Voronezh since January 2022, and his health had seriously deteriorated in recent weeks.
Russian authorities on Tuesday released former US Marine and English teacher Robert Gilman, Reuters reported, citing US officials. President Vladimir Putin granted a pardon for the 32-year-old on humanitarian grounds, ending a years-long detention that in recent months was marked by a serious decline in his health.
Gilman was boarded on a State Department aircraft the same day, which was to transport him from Russia to Washington's Dulles Airport. According to officials, four doctors examined him on the flight, and his mother, Nina Gilman, accompanied him. "All things considered, he appears to be in good condition," one US official told Reuters. Upon arrival in the US, Gilman will be transferred to a rehabilitation center in San Antonio, Texas, for further treatment.
Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev confirmed that the American citizen was boarded on a plane to Washington on Tuesday. The family had previously warned that Gilman's condition was extremely serious and that his life was in danger. US Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts stated that the former Marine was nearly catatonic before his release and was battling a severe form of pneumonia. He added that details of his current condition are not yet fully known.
The release comes after intense appeals from Gilman's family, who warned that he was "on his deathbed" and had suffered months of abuse in prison. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also raised the issue of Gilman's detention last month during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the Philippines.
Kieran Ramsey, chief investigator for the hostage advocacy group Global Reach, told PBS Newshour that "the treatment [Gilman] endured at the hands of Russian prison guards was far worse than anything we have seen so far." The organization claimed that Gilman could not communicate, his eyes were closed, and he was being fed through a tube.
His sister, Lexie Hudson, thanked US President Donald Trump, claiming that his response saved her brother's life. In a statement, she said the president learned of the case and took the necessary steps. Trump himself posted on Truth Social that the release came after his conversations with Vladimir Putin and was granted on humanitarian grounds. He emphasized that Russia asked for nothing in return and that there was no prisoner exchange. The president also confirmed that Gilman is reunited with his mother, Nancy, who is traveling with him, and that US representatives will greet him upon arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington.
Robert Gilman was arrested in January 2022 in Voronezh following an incident at a railway station where he was accused of assaulting a police officer. In October of the same year, a court sentenced him to two years in prison, followed by an additional eight-year sentence in December for an alleged attack on guards at a penal colony. However, independent Russian media outlet Meduza reports that Gilman was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison on charges of violence against a government official.
In late June 2026, Gilman fell into a state that Reuters described as a "dissociative stupor." Senator Markey clarified that this is a condition in which a person does not respond to stimuli, cannot communicate, or eat independently, and the diagnosis was made approximately 50 days ago. Since early July, he has been placed in the psychiatric ward of a civilian hospital in Voronezh. His lawyer, Irina Brazhnikova, confirmed to Russian media that he is there, while the hospital allegedly banned his mother from visiting despite a court order allowing her to do so.
Before his release, Gilman was one of at least eight American citizens in Russian prisons whose release the Trump administration is seeking. Moscow has not yet commented on the Reuters report, and no official pardon document had been published on the Kremlin's website as of Tuesday afternoon. US envoy Steve Witkoff and Deputy National Security Advisor Sebastian Gorka will greet Gilman upon his landing in Washington.
The family now expects Gilman to be admitted to a military hospital in Texas, where he will undergo thorough examinations and continue treatment after years of detention.
