Russia frees former US Marine Robert Gilman on humanitarian grounds
Russia pardoned and released Robert Gilman, a 32-year-old former US Marine imprisoned since 2022, after US officials raised concerns about his deteriorating health.
In short
- Russia pardoned and released Robert Gilman, a 32-year-old former US Marine imprisoned since 2022, after US officials raised concerns about his deteriorating health.
Russia released former US Marine Robert Gilman on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, after President Vladimir Putin granted him a humanitarian pardon, according to US officials and reporting carried by The Guardian.
Gilman, 32, was on a US State Department flight bound for Washington Dulles International Airport following his release. An American official who spoke with him said he was walking and talking, although the longer-term effects of his recent illness were not yet clear.
Russian authorities arrested Gilman in Voronezh in January 2022 and accused him of kicking a police officer while intoxicated. He was later sentenced to four and a half years in prison. His family disputed the account, saying he had become ill and that any contact with the officer was accidental.
Concern about Gilman intensified after advocates said he had been moved in late June from a prison hospital to a civilian psychiatric ward with a condition described by doctors as a dissociative stupor. US Senator Edward Markey said Gilman had also suffered severe pneumonia and had been unable to interact or eat.
It was not immediately known whether Washington would release a Russian national in return. Previous releases of detained Americans have involved exchanges, but officials had not announced one in this case.
Gilman's release removes one of at least 10 known cases of Americans imprisoned in Russia. The development comes as Washington and Moscow continue to manage strained relations alongside the war in Ukraine.
