The president Donald Trump announced this Tuesday the release of former U.S. Marine Robert Gilman, who was imprisoned in Russia during the administration of Democrat Joe Biden.
Gilman, who served in the Marines between 2019 and 2020, was arrested in January 2022 by Russian authorities while traveling by train, accused of assaulting a police officer while intoxicated. The former marine's family and his lawyers have always maintained that the charges were false or exaggerated.
Gilman's initial sentence of 4 and a half years in prison was extended with new charges for allegedly assaulting Russian prison staff and an investigator, bringing his total sentence to a maximum of 10 years. By 2026, his health deteriorated to the point where he was in a vegetative state and required a feeding tube, being on the brink of death.
Trump pushed for Gilman's release on humanitarian grounds, and on August 11 of this year, Vladimir Putin approved his pardon. The detainee was flown out of Russia on a U.S. State Department plane to a rehabilitation center in San Antonio, Texas, where he will receive medical treatment.
Trump's words
Trump celebrated this news on his social media, writing: "¡I am proud to announce that U.S. citizen Robert Gilman, former U.S. Marine, is coming HOME!".
