U.S. Demands Emergency Release of Imprisoned Ex-Marine Robert Gilman After Deterioration in Russian Psychiatric Ward
Advocacy groups warn the former U.S. Marine may have been tortured in custody as Washington presses Moscow for urgent repatriation.
Former U.S. Marine Robert Gilman is in critical condition in a Russian civilian hospital after entering a catatonic state and being fed through a tube for 46 days, triggering urgent calls from Washington for his immediate medical release back to the United States.
Gilman was transferred in late June from a prison hospital to the psychiatric ward of a civilian emergency hospital in Voronezh after deteriorating into what doctors diagnosed as a dissociative stupor. Hostage advocacy groups, including Global Reach and the Foley Foundation, raised alarms Thursday that the veteran may have been subjected to torture and forced injections of mind-altering substances prior to his incapacitation, leaving him unable to consume food unassisted for over six weeks.
Russian authorities have repeatedly barred Gilman’s mother and defense attorney from seeing him since his transfer to the civilian facility 46 days ago, defying a court order that specifically granted his mother visitation rights after she traveled to Russia. “I am more afraid for my brother than I have been since this horrible nightmare started,” his sister, Lexie Hudson, said in a statement, warning that without immediate release, her brother could die in custody.
The sharp decline in Gilman’s health prompted U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to directly confront Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov over the case during a meeting in Manila on July 23. Senior officials from the National Security Council and the State Department confirmed ongoing high-level outreach to Moscow, emphasizing that President Donald Trump’s administration is pressing for an emergency humanitarian release so Gilman can receive specialized medical care in the U.S.
Gilman is among at least 10 American nationals currently incarcerated in Russia, where Washington has frequently voiced concern over the security of detained U.S. citizens amid strained geopolitical ties. In March 2023, Gilman’s father, Vladimir Gilman, formally requested that the State Department designate his son as “wrongfully detained”—a legal status that unlocks dedicated federal resources under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act to negotiate prisoner releases.
The Massachusetts native, originally from Dracut, has been held since January 2022, when Russian police detained him aboard a Sochi-to-Moscow train while he was traveling to replace a damaged passport. Initially sentenced to 3½ years for allegedly assaulting a police officer—a charge Gilman disputed, testifying he believed his drink was spiked—his prison term was extended by a regional court in December to 10 years total following subsequent altercations with prison staff and an investigator while in custody.
