'Trump saved my brother's life': Sister speaks after ex-Marine's 1,666-day Russian ordeal

WASHINGTON, DC: Robert Gilman's family spent years wondering whether the former US Marine would ever make it home.

On Tuesday, August 11, after 1,666 days in Russian custody, that wait finally ended.

But for his sister Lexie Hudson, the relief came with a painful reminder of just how close her brother had come to dying.

She credited President Donald Trump with intervening in his case and said she believes that action is the reason Gilman is alive today.

Robert Gilman's sister credits Trump

“I am so grateful to President Trump for saving my brother’s life,” Hudson said in a statement provided to Fox News via nonprofit Global Relief.

“There is no other reason that Robert is alive today other than that President Trump heard about the case and took action,” she said.

Hudson also thanked Democratic Sen Ed Markey of Massachusetts, whose office had spent years working with the family to push for Gilman’s release.

“I want to thank Senator Ed Markey for leading our advocacy efforts in Congress,” Hudson said. “He and his staff were personally involved in Robert’s case and we will forever be grateful.”

But her gratitude was mixed with anger over what she said her brother endured behind bars.

“The Russians treated my brother so badly,” Hudson said. “They hurt him for no reason, other than that he was both an American and a Marine.”

“What did they get out of this? Why did they do this to such a wonderful person?” she asked.

Family representative details Robert Gilman's case

Gilman family representative Kieran Ramsey has described his condition as one of the most alarming cases he has encountered involving an American detained overseas.

Ramsey told Fox News that Gilman became seriously ill while traveling to Moldova in November 2021.

He had not intended to travel to Russia, but after becoming violently ill, he stopped in Moscow.

He was later arrested in Russia on January 17, 2022, in Voronezh and eventually received a multi-year prison sentence.

By the time arrangements for his release were underway, his health had deteriorated dramatically.

“Right now, he is in a catatonic state,” Ramsey said. “He’s being fed through a tube that goes down his nose into his stomach. And quite honestly, we were afraid he may already be dead, or he may not come out of this.”

Ramsey said Gilman’s medical evaluation will continue after he returns to the United States, with his family expected to join him at a US military hospital in Texas.

He added that Gilman’s case stood out even among the cases he had encountered during his career.

“I have a lot of experience in the hostage space,” Ramsey reportedly told Fox News. “Robert Gilman is by far one of the worst cases I’ve seen when it comes to how the Russians are treating Americans in prison.”

Ed Markey demands release of other hostages

Markey, who said his office had worked with Gilman’s family for more than two years, welcomed his release while stressing that the story does not end with Gilman coming home.

In a statement released Tuesday via X, the senator said Gilman had been diagnosed roughly 50 days earlier with a dissociative stupor that left him non-responsive and unable to interact or eat. He also suffered from severe pneumonia.

Markey said Gilman had been subjected to physical torture, forced medication, and other mistreatment while detained, and argued that his deteriorating condition should never have been allowed to reach such a critical point.

He used the moment to call attention to other Americans still imprisoned in Russia.

“There are still more than five other Americans detained in Russia,” Markey said, urging the Trump administration to use Gilman’s release as motivation to continue pushing for their freedom.

Global Relief identified five other Americans it says remain wrongfully detained: Aleksandr Antonov, David Barnes, Olga Jezler, Andre Khachatoorian, and Chuck Zimmerman.

The organization said each has deteriorating medical issues.