An American military veteran who spent more than four years imprisoned in Russia under disputed convictions has been released and is returning to the United States after concerns mounted that his deteriorating health placed him in imminent danger, advocates working on his behalf announced Tuesday.
Robert Gilman was being transported to a U.S. military hospital in Texas, where doctors will conduct comprehensive medical and psychological evaluations before beginning treatment, according to Eric Lebson, chief strategy officer of Global Reach, an organization that has campaigned for the release of Gilman and other Americans detained overseas.
Members of Gilman’s family, including his mother, traveled to Texas to reunite with him after his release. His mother had previously been in Russia attempting to visit him while he was hospitalized there.
Gilman, 32, a teacher who had been held in Russia since 2022, was first sentenced that year to three and a half years in prison after being convicted of assaulting a police officer following his removal from a train where authorities said he had caused a disturbance.
Authorities later brought additional charges against him, accusing him of attacking a prison inspector during a cell inspection, assaulting an investigator, and attacking a prison guard. Those convictions resulted in a sentence of eight years and one month, imposed in October 2024.
His prison term was increased again last year to a total of 10 years after another conviction for assaulting prison guards.
According to Lebson, Gilman’s condition had become critical before his release. He said the American had spent 47 days in “a dissociative stupor” because of the abuse he allegedly endured while incarcerated.
Before leaving Russia, Gilman had been transferred from prison to a civilian hospital, where he was reportedly receiving nutrition through a feeding tube while remaining handcuffed to his hospital bed.
{Matzav.com}
