American ex-Marine feared near death after weeks in catatonic state in Russian prison
Former U.S. Marine Robert Gilman, who has been held in a Russian prison since 2022, could be close to death, advocacy groups representing his family warned Thursday.
They also say Gilman is being fed through a tube after falling into a catatonic-like state.
Hostage advocacy groups and Gilman's sister indicated the former service member may have been tortured and injected with mind-altering drugs before falling into a stupor in June, Reuters reported.
Eric Lebson, chief strategy officer of Global Reach, an advocacy group representing Gilman's family, told Fox News Digital that Gilman has been unable to eat on his own for more than six weeks.
Gilman was transferred in late June from a prison hospital to the psychiatric ward of a civilian emergency hospital in Voronezh after entering what was assessed as a "dissociative stupor," Lebson said.
"For the past 46 days, he has been fed through a tube," Lebson added.
"The Russians have not been responsive," he said before adding that the Russians have also "not allowed his mother to see him, which raises our level of concern that something serious has now happened."
Lebson said the Russian hospital also barred his mother from visiting him despite a judicial order allowing her to see her son.
"She flew to Russia, and they are not allowing her to come and do what is needed to get him out of a stupor," Lebson said.
"His mother and lawyer have been prohibited from seeing him since he was moved to the civilian hospital 46 days ago."
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According to Lebson, the White House and the State Department have urged Moscow to release Gilman so he can receive urgent medical treatment in the United States.
"The State Department and the National Security Council have been very actively engaged in communication about the need for Robert to be released on an emergency basis," he clarified.
Another advocacy group following the case also expressed concern for Gilmam's safety.
"It doesn’t seem like he’s getting the care he needs, and we are very concerned for his life and safety," Elizabeth Richards, director of hostage advocacy and research at the Foley Foundation, which has tracked Gilman's case, told Reuters.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised Gilman's case with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a meeting in Manila July 23, according to Reuters.
Gilman is one of at least 10 Americans known to be imprisoned in Russia.
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"We are deeply concerned about Robert Gilman's health and continued detention," the State Department said in a statement.
"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."
As previously reported by Fox News Digital, Gilman, of Dracut, Massachusetts, was first arrested in January 2022 after fellow train passengers reported he was intoxicated and causing a disturbance while traveling from Sochi to Moscow to replace a damaged passport.
He was convicted later that year of assaulting a police officer and sentenced to 3½ years in prison. Gilman later told the court he believed his drink had been spiked.
His legal troubles escalated while in custody after he was convicted in separate incidents involving altercations with prison staff and an investigator.
In December, Russian state media reported that a regional court extended Gilman's sentence, bringing his total prison term to 10 years.
Vladimir Gilman, Robert's father, previously said the family asked the State Department in March 2023 to designate his son as wrongfully detained, a status that would make securing his release a top U.S. government priority.
In a statement, a senior administration official told Fox News Digital that President Trump’s administration is "closely tracking Mr. Gilman’s case and has made repeated, concerted outreach to the Russians calling for his return to the United States."