President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that U.S. citizen and former Marine Robert Gilman will be returning to American soil after being imprisoned in Russia for the past four years.
Gilman will be flown to Washington’s Andrews Air Force Base, Trump said, adding that administration officials will be on the plane with him.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff was credited with communicating with the Russian government to release Gilman to allow him to “receive the necessary medical treatment here in the United States,” the Department of State said in a statement on Tuesday.
Gilman, a 32-year-old teacher detained since 2022, was initially handed a three-and-a-half-year sentence in Russia for allegedly beating a police officer after being taken off a train for causing a disturbance.
He was later convicted of what Russian officials say was attacking a prison inspector during a cell check, beating an investigator, and assaulting a guard. He was sentenced in October 2024 to eight years and one month. His sentence was extended last year to 10 years after he was found guilty of assaulting prison guards.
Gilman’s family has long disputed the charges against him.
Gilman’s sister, Lexie Hudson, told The Associated Press on Aug. 11 that “the Russians treated my brother so badly” while crediting Trump and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) for getting him released.
“They hurt him for no reason, other than that he was both an American and a Marine,” she said. What did they get out of this? Why did they do this to such a wonderful person?”
The Department of State statement also suggested on Tuesday that Gilman’s imprisonment in Russia was wrongfully imposed, and is seeking the “immediate return of all other unjustly detained Americans, including wrongful detainee Stephen Hubbard.”
Markey blamed the Russian government for Gilman’s poor health, and questioned the charges filed against him.
He added, “It is a tragedy that it took Robert’s near-death condition for his case to receive the attention that it required for his release to be negotiated. Throughout his detention, Robert was subjected to physical torture, forced medication, and provocations by Russian authorities. There is no doubt that his treatment by Russian authorities is the reason Robert is in this precarious state today.”
Like the State Department, the Massachusetts senator also called for the release of at least five other American citizens in Russian prisons.
WNBA player Britney Griner was arrested on drug-related charges in Russia in 2022, leading to a high-profile prisoner exchange between the Biden administration and the Kremlin. Ultimately, Griner was exchanged for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in May 2023.
