United States Marine veteran Robert Gilman has finally been released from Russia after 1,666 days in prison.
He was taken into custody in Voronezh, Russia, on Jan. 17, 2022, after having to stop in Moscow on his way to Moldova due to becoming “violently ill.” Gilman family representative Kieran Ramsey explained the circumstances that led to the Marine vet being sentenced to 10 years in a Russian prison.
“He ends up going to a relative’s house to recuperate because of this illness. In January of 2022, after what he thought was a full recovery, he goes to the U.S. embassy to renew his passport. But en route, he becomes violently ill again. And at that point the Russian police approach him thinking he’s drunk, claiming then that he assaults them, and then they proceed to assault him and arrest him and charge him. And that nightmare has exponentially expanded since that point,” the rep told Fox News.
Gilman was released on humanitarian grounds, and Ramsey expressed concern for his medical health.
“Our main concern is that we think he’s dying in a Russian hospital. And the Russians won’t let his mother even visit him, let alone embassy staff,” he explained. “Right now, he is in a catatonic state. He’s being fed through a tube that goes down his nose into his stomach. And quite honestly, we were afraid he may already be dead or he may not come out of this.”
On June 30, the veteran was released from the prison and transferred to a civilian hospital. He will be evaluated by a medical team upon returning to the United States, Ramsey revealed.
“Robert’s full medical assessment will be done when he gets back to the US and his family will join him at a US military hospital in Texas, as he starts the long road to recovery.”
Lexie Hudson, Gilman’s sister, thanked President Donald Trump for “saving my brother’s life.”
“I am so grateful to President Trump for saving my brother’s life. There is no other reason that Robert is alive today other than that President Trump heard about the case and took action,” she said in a statement. “I want to thank Senator Ed Markey for leading our advocacy efforts in Congress. He and his staff were personally involved in Robert’s case and we will forever be grateful.”
“The Russians treated my brother so badly. They hurt him for no reason, other than that he was both an American and a Marine. What did they get out of this? Why did they do this to such a wonderful person?”
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Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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