Relatives of ex-Marine Robert Gilman feared he was dying in a Russian psychiatric ward. This week, he boarded a plane for home.

Relatives of Robert Gilman, a 32-year-old former U.S. Marine, had feared he was gravely ill while confined in a Russian psychiatric facility. Vladimir Putin granted his pardon on humanitarian grounds, according to Reuters, with Washington urging Moscow on August 7 to release the American so he could receive treatment at home. Gilman's family had grown increasingly concerned about his well-being, with him reportedly experiencing torture and drug-induced unconsciousness, being fed through a tube, and seemingly in a dissociative state since June.

He was reportedly transported to Washington Dulles Airport on August 11, walking and speaking, according to a State Department source. Gilman's Russian defense attorney, Irina Brazhnikova, acknowledged his absence from the hospital but denied any knowledge of his release, stating she had not yet been informed. Kirill Dmitriev, a special representative of the Russian president, confirmed Gilman's liberation.

Gilman was among at least ten Americans detained in Russia, with his name included in a May 2025 list of nine U.S. citizens Washington sought for a potential prisoner exchange.