Russia frees former US marine jailed for more than 4 years
WASHINGTON, United States (AP) — Russia on Tuesday released an American military veteran who spent more than four years in prison on disputed charges under abusive conditions and was said to be gravely ill and at risk of dying.Robert Gilman was on his way to a US military hospital in Texas, where he was expected to be medically and psychologically assessed and treated, said Eric Lebson, chief strategy officer of Global Reach, a group that had been working to free him and other American detainees abroad. Gilman’s family had flown to Texas to be with him, including his mother, who was in Russia attempting to see him at a hospital.Gilman, a 32-year-old teacher detained since 2022, was initially handed a 3 1/2-year sentence when he was convicted of beating a police officer after being taken off a train for causing a disturbance. He later was convicted of attacking a prison…
Russia has released Robert Gilman, a 32-year-old American military veteran, after more than four years of imprisonment on disputed charges. Gilman, who was detained in 2022, was reportedly gravely ill and in a "dissociative stupor" due to abusive conditions in prison, including physical torture and forced medication. He was transferred from a prison to a civilian hospital before his release and is now en route to a US military hospital in Texas for medical and psychological assessment.
"There is no other reason that Robert is alive today other than that President Trump heard about the case and took action,"
said his sister, Lexie Hudson, also crediting Senator Ed Markey. The State Department confirmed Gilman's release on humanitarian grounds, stating it was not part of an exchange. Senator Markey criticized Russia, stating, "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."
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