Russia ups jail sentence of US citizen to 10 years for beating prison staff
Russia once again extended the prison sentence of U.S. citizen Robert Gilman Wednesday after a regional court found him guilty of a new assault on prison staff.
The ruling adds two more years to the former Marine’s existing term, now bringing his total sentence to 10 years, Reuters reported.
The latest extension came in the Voronezh region, where Gilman continues to serve time.
Prosecutors accused him of attacking two prison guards, and the court ruled that the incident constituted a new offense which warranted additional punishment.
The move follows a pattern of steadily increasing charges for Gilman since his initial arrest in 2022, highlighting how his prison time has lengthened over consecutive years.
Gilman, from 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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Transport police took him off the train in Voronezh, where he was detained for petty hooliganism.
At the time, Russian media reported 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 in 2022 of assaulting a police officer, initially receiving a sentence of three and a half years.
At the time, prosecutors recommended four and a half years, of a possible five.
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Fox News Digital also reported that Gilman bruised a Russian police officer with a kick while being dragged off of the train.
Gilman’s troubles in custody then increased in 2024 when he was found guilty of attacking a prison inspector during a cell check, assaulting an investigator and beating another guard.
Those convictions brought a sentence of eight years and one month, with Wednesday’s decision pushing the total to a decade.
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Local media, including the business newspaper Kommersant, reported that Gilman admitted to some of the assaults, per Reuters.
He said he began breaking prison rules after he was threatened with transfer from his current detention facility, which he described as humane and where he could receive packages from relatives, to a maximum-security penal colony.
On Wednesday, Gilman apologized in court and explained he preferred to remain in the Voronezh facility.
According to Reuters, Gilman’s lawyer, Irina Brazhnikova, told the state-run TASS news agency that he would not appeal the newest verdict.
Gilman is among at least nine Americans still imprisoned in Russia following multiple high-profile prisoner exchanges in 2024 and 2025.
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Several, like Gilman, have U.S. military backgrounds, including Michael Travis Leake and Gordon Black.
Supporters of Gilman in the United States argue he was ill when first detained and was provoked into actions that produced additional charges.
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