U.S. citizen Robert Gilman, who had been in a Russian penal colony since 2022, has been released following a pardon. This was reported by the U.S. State Department and several Western media outlets. The American foreign policy agency emphasized that the release is not part of a prisoner exchange. According to Reuters, the corresponding pardon decision was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. In recent months, the health condition of the 32-year-old American has sharply deteriorated. According to his relatives, since June he had been in a dissociative stupor and was transferred from a colony in Voronezh to a hospital. Gilman himself had previously reported torture and the administration of substances that, according to him, affected his consciousness. For the family, the release means the opportunity to continue treatment in the U.S. According to media reports, Gilman is already on board a plane heading home. Robert Gilman was detained in Russia in January 2022. Initially, he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison after a conflict with a police officer that occurred after he was removed from a train for public disorder while intoxicated. Later, new criminal cases were initiated against him. Russian courts found him guilty of assaults on correctional facility staff, an investigator, and a prison inspector. As a result, his sentence was first increased to eight years and one month, and then to ten years in prison. The American side considers the prosecution to be unfounded. The U.S. State Department has repeatedly sought Gilman's release, and his father, who emigrated from the USSR, publicly stated that all charges against his son were fabricated. Robert Gilman's release occurred against the backdrop of ongoing contacts between Moscow and Washington regarding the detained citizens of both countries. However, U.S. authorities separately emphasized that this case does not involve another prisoner exchange.
