Marine close to death after torture and injection with mind-altering drug: Family
The sister of a former U.S. Marine jailed in Russia is sounding the alarm that her brother may be near death.
Two hostage advocacy groups and the sister of Robert Gilman, 32, are alleging that he was tortured and given mind-altering drugs, Reuters reports.
An anonymous source told the news outlet that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had apparently discussed Gilman’s case while meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Manila on July 23. It’s unclear what Lavrov’s response was.
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Gilman is one of at least 10 Americans who are known to be in a Russian prison.
Last month, he was admitted to a hospital in Voronezh, according to a report from Kommersant newspaper.
His lawyer had said at the time that it was too early to disclose a diagnosis.
In 2022, Gilman was imprisoned for allegedly assaulting a police officer while intoxicated.
In 2024, Gilman’s sentence was extended after he received further convictions for allegedly assaulting prison officials and a state investigator.
Russian state media reported last December that he was facing a total sentence of 10 years after the further conviction of assaulting prison staff.
Those who rallied in support of the former Marine had said at the time that he was already sick when he was first arrested, and alleged that he was provoked in prison, leading to further charges.
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Washington had voiced interest in the release and repatriation of Gilman, a source close to the Kremlin told Reuters in 2025.
Gilman’s father, Vladimir, a Russian national who immigrated to Massachusetts, disputed his son’s charges of assaulting the police officer in an October 11, 2024, Boston Globe op-ed.
Vladimir had written that Gilman had fallen ill when the incident occurred and had accidentally kicked the officer. He added in the op-ed that the officer was uninjured, had dropped the charges, and had not presented any evidence at trial.
Gilman served in the U.S. Marines from August 2019 until August 2020.
