Russia frees former U.S. Marine Robert Gilman after Putin pardon

Moscow, Russia. Russia on Tuesday released former U.S. Marine Robert Gilman, who had been jailed since 2022, after President Vladimir Putin approved a pardon on humanitarian grounds, U.S. officials said.

Gilman, 32, was transported on a State Department plane from Russia to Washington Dulles Airport, where he was expected to receive further medical care.

Health concerns

The White House and State Department had called on Moscow to release Gilman so he could receive treatment in the United States.

He had been held at a prison in Voronezh, about 550 kilometres south of Moscow. The precise circumstances of his health were unclear.

Eric Lebson, chief strategy officer of Global Reach, an advocacy group representing Gilman’s family, told Reuters last week that Gilman had been transferred in late June from the prison hospital to the psychiatric ward of a civilian emergency hospital.

Lebson said Gilman was in a catatonic-like state assessed as a “dissociative stupor.”

Return to the United States

A U.S. official who spoke to Gilman said he was walking and talking.

“All things considered he seems to be in good shape,” the official said.

Four doctors were due to assess Gilman during the flight, U.S. officials said. His mother, Nina, was also on board.

Upon arrival at Dulles, Gilman was expected to be greeted by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and deputy national security adviser Sebastian Gorka.

Planned treatment

U.S. officials said Witkoff and Gorka had sought Gilman’s release alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Jared Kushner, U.S. special envoy for hostage response Adam Boehler and other officials.

Gilman was likely to be flown to a rehabilitation centre in San Antonio, Texas, for medical treatment after arriving in the United States, the officials said.