Advocates for former US Marine held in Russia for more than 4 years say he is near death

BOSTON (AP) — A former U.S. Marine held in Russia for more than four years on disputed charges is gravely ill and at risk of dying, his family and advocates said Friday.

Robert Gilman, a 32-year-old teacher detained since 2022, has been in “a dissociative stupor” for 47 days due to the abuse he has suffered in prison, said Eric Lebson, chief strategy officer of Global Reach, an advocacy group representing the family. Since Tuesday, Gilman has had a high fever and high blood pressure.

Lebson said he has been moved from a prison to a civilian hospital, where he is hooked up to a feeding tube and handcuffed to a bed. His mother flew to Russia a couple of weeks ago in an attempt to see him, Lebson said, but hospital officials denied the visit.

Gilman’s lawyer Irina Brazhnikova told Russian news agency Interfax on Friday that Gilman is in a psychiatric ward of a civilian hospital, where he’s been since early July. Brazhnikova said defense lawyers have not been able to visit their client, prompting her to lodge complaints to the local prosecutor’s office, the local branch of the Federal Penitentiary Service, and to the prison hospital, where Gilman is registered.

“I am more afraid for my brother than I have been since this horrible nightmare started,” Lexie Hudson, Gilman’s sister, said in a statement. “I’m worried that I ⁠may never see him again if the Russians don’t release him. I’m worried that he could die.”

U.S. Sen. Edward Markey called on Russia and the U.S. to work together to get the Massachusetts resident released. Gilman is one of at least 8 Americans who remain in Russian custody after a series of high-profile prisoner exchanges with the U.S. in recent years.

“I am very worried that, if urgent action is not taken to release Robert so he can receive urgent medical care in the United States, his condition could become permanent, or he could die in Russian custody,” Markey said in a statement Thursday. “I implore the United States and Russian governments to find a solution before we find ourselves in a situation that will further complicate an already difficult relationship.”

A spokesperson for the State Department said it was “deeply concerned about Robert Gilman’s health and continued detention in Russia.”

“Given these health concerns, the U.S. government has raised his case repeatedly with the Russian government and has requested his release on humanitarian grounds,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We take our commitment to assist Americans abroad seriously and will continue to track closely Mr. Gilman’s case.”

Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The family on its website detailed how Gilman’s troubles started when he became violently ill on his way back to Moscow. Police allegedly tried to restrain him and he was then detained after his leg brushed against one of the officers. From there, the family said a “series of vague and escalating charges” were lodged and, in prison, he has been “goaded” into additional actions and related charges “through forced drugging, provocations, and torture.”

Gilman was initially handed a 3 1/2-year sentence in 2022 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 inspector during a cell check, beating an investigator and assaulting a guard, and 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.

The business daily Kommersant reported that Gilman pleaded guilty to the charges and apologized to the guards he was charged with assaulting. The newspaper said he explained his actions by saying he wanted to stay in the prison where he was serving his sentence and avoid being moved to another penitentiary.