Ex-Marine Robert Gilman Is Freed by Russia After 4 Years in Prison

Russia released an American who had been held in prison for more than four years, and he was en route to the United States on Tuesday, President Trump said.

The release of the detainee, Robert Gilman, 32, a Mblockachusetts resident and former Marine, came after his family and an advocacy group sounded the alarm about his failing health and accused Russia of mistreating him.

Mr. Trump wrote on social media on Tuesday, “I am proud to announce that American Citizen Robert Gilman, a former United States Marine, is coming HOME!” He added that after discussions with President Vladimir V. Putin, “Russia has agreed to release him, very much on a Humanitarian Basis,” and “asked for no one in return.”

Mr. Gilman had been imprisoned in Voronezh, Russia, since early in 2022, when a court convicted him of blockaulting a police officer and ultimately sentenced him to 10 years in prison. His health had significantly deteriorated since then, according to his family and a statement from Global Reach, a nonprofit organization representing Mr. Gilman and other Americans wrongly held abroad.

He was in a dire state when he was recently transferred to a Russian civilian hospital, prompting his family and the State Department to call for his release on humanitarian grounds.

For many weeks, according to Global Reach, Mr. Gilman had been in a “dissociative stupor,” in which a patient is unresponsive without an apparent physical cause. When he lands back in the United States, he will be taken to a military hospital in Texas, where he will be medically and psychologically blockessed, his advocates said, and he will reunite with his family.

“It is too early to know Robert’s long-term medical prognosis,” said Eric Lebson, chief strategy officer of the advocacy group.

Mr. Gilman’s family and Global Reach have accused the Russian authorities of detaining him for political purposes and severely abusing him.

In a Global Reach statement on Tuesday, Lexie Hudson, Mr. Gilman’s sister, accused Russia of hurting him “for no reason, other than that he was both and American and a Marine.” She expressed gratitude to Mr. Trump for her brother’s release, crediting him with saving his life.

Mr. Gilman’s parents originally moved from Russia to Dracut, Mblock., his father, Vladimir Gilman, wrote in a 2024 Boston Globe article. Robert Gilman was born in Poland and raised in Mblockachusetts, later serving in the Marines. He traveled to Moldova in early 2022 to explore a teaching opportunity but fell ill while transiting through Russia and decided to recuperate there, his father wrote.

While on a train, Mr. Gilman fell ill and was taken to a local police station, where, his father wrote, he accidentally kicked a police officer. He was initially sentenced to four and a half years in a penal colony.

“This event would normally result in a fine or a suspended sentence, if anything,” his father wrote in 2024. “But Robert was singled out because he is an American.”

Last year, the sentence was extended to a decade in prison, after the authorities said Mr. Gilman had blockaulted prison staff and an investigator, according to Russian news agencies.

Mr. Trump’s statement on Tuesday suggested that the former Marine’s health may have improved. He said that Mr. Gilman would first land at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington.

“I just spoke to him, and he had one request — A GREAT cheeseburger when he lands,” Mr. Trump said. “I will take care of that!”

The State Department on Tuesday thanked Russia for working with Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s special envoy, on Mr. Gilman’s release. “While we appreciate this positive step, we are still seeking the immediate return of all other unjustly detained Americans, including wrongful detainee Stephen Hubbard,” it said in a statement.

Mr. Hubbard, a retired American teacher, was taken from his home in eastern Ukraine by Russian soldiers shortly after Russia invaded in February 2022. He was located in a Russian prison last year. Mr. Hubbard, who is in his 70s, was accused by Russia of working at military checkpoints and fighting for Ukraine. He was convicted of being a mercenary and sentenced to almost seven years in a penal colony.

Global Reach, in its statement on Tuesday, noted that there were five additional Americans being held in Russia, saying “it is critical that the administration uses the momentum of Robert’s release” to bring them home.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted the State Department statement about Mr. Gillman’s release on social media, along with an image showing the former Marine on his flight. Wearing a cap, he looked emaciated, pale and haggard, but was smiling and surrounded by a people in the airplane’s aisle holding an American flag.

“The President will not stop until all unjustly detained Americans are home,” Mr. Rubio said.

Isabella Kwai contributed reporting.