Russia on Wednesday again extended the prison sentence of US citizen Robert Gilman after a regional court found him guilty of a new attack on prison staff.
The ruling adds two years to the former Marine’s existing term, bringing his total sentence to 10 years. Reuters reported this.
The latest expansion took place in the Voronezh region, where Gilman remains in prison.
Prosecutors accused him of assaulting two prison guards, and the court ruled that the incident constituted a new crime that warranted additional sentences.
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Robert Gilman now faces a total of ten years after the court in Voronezh added another two years for alleged attacks on guards. (REUTERS/Vladimir Lavrov)
The move follows a pattern of steadily increasing charges against Gilman since his first arrest in 2022, highlighting how his prison sentence has been extended in successive years.
Gilman, of Dracut, Massachusetts, was first arrested in January 2022 after passengers on a train reported he was drunk and causing a disturbance.
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The Russian prison sentence for the former marine continues to rise after a new assault conviction. (REUTERS/Vladimir Lavrov)
The transport police took him off the train in Voronezh, where he was held for petty hooliganism.
Russian media reported at the time that Gilman, who had been traveling between Sochi and Moscow to replace a damaged passport, was heavily intoxicated.
He later claimed in court that he believed his drink had been spiked.
Gilman was convicted of assaulting a police officer in 2022 and initially received a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
At the time, prosecutors recommended four and a half years, out of a possible five.
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Gilman’s legal troubles have escalated since his arrest in 2022 over a train disruption while he was traveling to replace his passport. (REUTERS/Vladimir Lavrov)
Gilman’s troubles in custody then increased in 2024 when he was found guilty of assaulting a prison inspector during a cell check, assaulting an investigator and punching another guard.
Those convictions carried a prison sentence of eight years and one month, with Wednesday’s decision bringing the total to ten.
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The former US Marine was sentenced to another two years in a Russian prison for assault. (Vladimir Lavrov/REUTERS)
Local media, including the Kommersant business newspaper, reported that Gilman admitted to some of the assaults, according to Reuters.
He said he began violating prison rules after being threatened with a transfer from his current detention center, which he described as humane and where he could receive packages from relatives, to a high-security penal colony.
On Wednesday, Gilman apologized in court and explained that he preferred to remain in prison in Voronezh.
According to Reuters, Gilman’s lawyer, Irina Brazhnikova, told state news agency TASS that he would not appeal the latest verdict.
Gilman is one of at least nine Americans still imprisoned in Russia after multiple high-profile prisoner swaps in 2024 and 2025.
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Former prisoners released by Russia, journalist Evan Gershkovich, right, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, center, and U.S.-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, left, smile after landing at Joint Base San Antonio-Kelly Field, Texas, on August 2, 2024. (Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images)
Several, like Gilman, have a US military background, including Michael Travis Leake and Gordon Black.
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Gilman’s supporters in the United States claim he was ill when first detained and provoked into actions that brought additional charges.
