Marine veteran Robert Gilman freed from Russia after 1,666 days, arrived near death

A 32-year-old Marine veteran held in Russian custody for more than four and a half years has finally landed on American soil, but only after his health collapsed so severely that advocates feared he might not survive the trip home.

Robert Gilman, a former teacher from Massachusetts, touched down at a U.S. military facility this week after Russian President Vladimir Putin pardoned him on humanitarian grounds. He is now receiving treatment at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, where doctors are evaluating a man his own advocates describe as a shell of who he was when Russia first detained him in January 2022.

Kieran Ramsey, chief investigative officer at Global Reach, a firm that worked to secure Gilman's freedom, and a former head of the FBI's Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, told CBS News on Thursday that the delay nearly cost Gilman his life.

"We had to wait 'til almost we were on death's door with him to be able to spur the right kind of action that got his release. And we're just thankful he's back on U.S. soil right now."

Ramsey said Gilman is now "getting the world's best medical care," but the road ahead will be long. What his advocates have described about Gilman's condition in Russian custody reads less like a prison sentence and more like systematic destruction.

Sixteen-hour forced exercise, psychotropic drugs, and a feeding tube

Eric Lebson, Global Reach's chief strategy officer, said last week that Gilman had been found in a Russian hospital in a "dissociative stupor," being fed through a tube. CBS News has not independently verified the claims of mistreatment, and Russian officials have not publicly responded to them. But Lebson's account is harrowing.

He alleged that Russian authorities subjected Gilman to harassment, forced exercise sessions lasting up to 16 hours, and administration of psychotropic drugs. Lebson also claimed Gilman was pressured to fight in Ukraine.

"The situation with Robert is far beyond anything we have seen with any other American detained in Russia."

Ramsey echoed that assessment. Fox News reported that Ramsey described Gilman's case as one of the worst instances of Russian treatment of an American prisoner, and that before the release, family members feared Gilman might already be dead.

Ramsey had previously told reporters that Gilman was in a catatonic state, being fed through a nasal tube. The image is grim: a Marine veteran, trained to endure hardship, reduced to a man who could not feed himself or respond to the world around him.

Putin pardoned Gilman after Trump pressed the case directly

Gilman had been serving a four-and-a-half-year sentence after Russian authorities accused him of drunkenly kicking a police officer. He was arrested on January 17, 2022, and spent 1,666 days in Russian custody before his release. The Washington Examiner reported that Putin personally pardoned Gilman on humanitarian grounds after the Trump administration intervened diplomatically.

A State Department spokesperson told CBS News that the Trump administration had raised Gilman's case with the Russian government repeatedly and requested his release on humanitarian grounds, citing his deteriorating health. Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a public statement of gratitude.

"We thank Russia for working with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to release Mr. Gilman and allowing him to receive the necessary medical treatment here in the United States."

Russia asked for nothing in return. No prisoner swap. No concessions. President Trump described the release as purely humanitarian, posting on Truth Social that Putin had agreed to free Gilman after their direct discussions. A photo shared on Trump's Truth Social account showed Gilman on a plane following his release.

Gilman's sister, Lexie Hudson, did not hold back about who she credits for her brother's survival. The New York Post reported her statement:

"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."

Gilman's mother, Nancy Gilman, accompanied her son on the return flight to the United States. The White House confirmed his arrival on U.S. soil, posting on X: "Welcome home, Robert Gilman! After more than four years detained in Russia, American citizen Robert Gilman is finally back on U.S. soil."

Thirteen Americans still held abroad, and the clock is ticking

Gilman's release follows a pattern the Trump administration has established. The president previously secured the release of Marc Fogel from Russia in February, and the administration says it has returned hundreds of Americans detained abroad to their families. Trump posted on Truth Social that bringing home detained Americans has been a priority "at a level never seen before."

But Ramsey made clear that the work is far from finished. He told CBS News that significant numbers of Americans remain in hostile custody around the world.

"We have 10 others in Russia. We have two designated in Iran. We have one designated in China. Let's hope that he's able to bring all of these folks home as soon as possible."

The word "designated" in Ramsey's statement likely refers to an official U.S. government classification for Americans considered wrongfully detained, though S1 does not define the term precisely. What is clear is the scope: at least thirteen Americans remain held by adversarial governments, and each case carries the same risk that nearly ended Gilman's life.

The specific diplomatic terms that secured Gilman's release have not been disclosed. Nor has Russia responded publicly to the allegations of forced exercise, psychotropic drug administration, and pressure to join the war in Ukraine. Those claims remain attributed solely to Global Reach, and CBS News noted it has not independently verified them.

But the physical evidence, a man who entered Russian custody as a healthy 27-year-old Marine veteran and emerged in a catatonic state, fed through a nasal tube, unable to function, speaks for itself. Whatever happened inside those Russian facilities left Gilman a fraction of the man who walked in.

Robert Gilman is alive because someone with the authority to act chose to act before it was too late. Thirteen families are still waiting for the same phone call.