Rubio: US monitoring condition of Robert Gilman jailed in Russia

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Washington is closely monitoring the case of Robert Gilman, a former US Marine imprisoned in Russia since 2022, after advocacy groups warned he may be close to death following a reported catatonic-like state.

The group and his family urged Moscow to release him for urgent medical treatment in the United States, Caliber.Az reports, citing Reuters.

Robert Gilman, 32, is being treated in a Russian hospital after slipping into what has been described as a "dissociative stupor" in late June, according to Global Reach and the Foley Foundation, two organisations advocating for his release.

His family alleges he was tortured and injected with mind-altering drugs while in Russian custody.

Gilman is reportedly currently being fed through a tube.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised Gilman's case with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a meeting in Manila on July 23. The source said Lavrov's response was unknown.

Gilman is one of at least 10 Americans known to be imprisoned in Russia.

"I am more afraid for my brother than I have been since this horrible nightmare started," Gilman's sister, Lexie Hudson, 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."

A senior Trump administration official said the administration was "closely tracking Mr. Gilman's case" and had repeatedly urged Russia to return him to the United States.

"We are deeply concerned about Robert Gilman's health and continued detention," the US State Department said.

According to Lebson, Gilman's mother has been denied access to her son despite obtaining a court order allowing visits, while US consular officials and his Russian lawyer have also been barred from seeing him in hospital.

Gilman was previously held at a prison in Voronezh before being transferred in late June to the psychiatric ward of a civilian emergency hospital. According to Lebson, he has been unable to communicate, remains with his eyes shut and requires tube feeding, preventing him from attending court hearings.

"It doesn't seem like he's getting the care he needs, and we are very concerned for his life and safety," said Elizabeth Richards, director of hostage advocacy and research at the Foley Foundation.

Gilman was arrested in Voronezh on January 17, 2022, after allegedly assaulting a police officer while intoxicated. His family has disputed the allegations, saying he became ill during the incident and accidentally kicked the officer, who was reportedly uninjured and later dropped the complaint.

He was initially sentenced to four and a half years in prison. Russian state media later reported that his sentence was extended to 10 years in 2024 after he allegedly assaulted prison staff, allegations his advocates deny.

Lebson and Richards claim Gilman endured harsh prison conditions, torture and forced injections with mind-altering drugs before being transferred to the civilian hospital.

"We are seriously worried that we could see another situation like Otto Warmbier," Lebson said, referring to the American student who died in 2017 after being released from detention in North Korea in a coma.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov