The Russian authorities could decide to release former American Marine Robert Gilman not only for humanitarian reasons due to his state of health, but also as part of attempts to resolve the Ukrainian conflict through US mediation, Alexey Tarasov, a former lawyer for Russian Viktor Bout, convicted in the United States, suggested in an interview with RTVI.
Gilman, 32, was serving a 10-year prison sentence in Russia on a number of charges. First, he was tried for a fight with law enforcement officers at a train station in Voronezh in 2022, and then a sentence was added to the punishment for a fight with employees of the colony where he was being held.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for Gilman's release in July due to a sharp deterioration in his health at a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. The Russian response was initially unknown, but in August Gilman was released by decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin. US President Donald Trump said he discussed the issue with him on the phone, and the Kremlin agreed to release the ex-Marine without exchanging him for any US prisoner.
“This is a rather unusual case, especially against the backdrop of Russian-American practice in recent years, when the release of the most famous prisoners usually took place on the principle of exchange. Here, according to Trump and American officials, Russia did not demand anyone in return and there was no exchange. The United States did not make specific concessions. At the same time, I would formulate this thesis carefully, that is, based on publicly available information,” Tarasov noted, adding that there is a closed element in any diplomatic negotiations.
In this regard, the expert noted that the negotiations on Gilman’s release were conducted by the same team as on the Ukrainian settlement.
“The indicative point here is at least the fact that the negotiators and the communication channel are the same. That is, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner (White House special envoy to the Middle East and Trump’s son-in-law – RTVI) took part in Gilman’s release. In fact, they are discussing the end of the conflict in Ukraine. Therefore, I hope that this is the beginning, and this will give a good impetus to conclude a peace agreement,” the lawyer emphasized.
Tarasov added that Gilman’s health, according to available information, was indeed “undermined.” He compared the situation with the condition of another of his clients, Bogdana Osipova. A Russian woman was sentenced to three years in the United States on charges of kidnapping for taking children born from her American husband to Russia. A local court awarded him custody in a divorce case, and the Russian woman was detained when she returned to the United States in 2017 to resolve the issue of alimony. She served the entire three-year sentence.
“Her health was very damaged. She, like Gilman, was in a catatonic state. This is when a person just sits in a stupor, and this continues for many days. And I can say that this is simply terrible,” emphasized Tarasov, who also represented the interests of the Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko in the United States.
