A Russian court on Monday sentenced US citizen and former Marine Robert Gilman to seven years and one month in prison for assaulting a prison worker and a state investigator, the local prosecutor’s office reported.
Gilman, 30, is already serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence for assaulting a police officer while intoxicated, a charge for which he was found guilty in October 2022.
Prosecutors in Voronezh, a city about 500 km south of Moscow where Gilman is imprisoned, said he had attacked a prison employee and a state investigator on separate occasions in the fall of 2023.
Reuters could not immediately reach a lawyer for Gilman. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russia’s state news agency RIA said Gilman, whose lawyers had previously told state news agency TASS that he had come to Russia to study and obtain citizenship, had pleaded guilty to all charges.
According to RIA, Gilman told the court last week that he had been forced to use violence after the prison inspector caused pain to his genitals and the investigator insulted his father.
Gilman is one of at least 10 American citizens who have been behind bars in Russia for two months, after a prisoner swap between Moscow and the West on August 1 freed 24 people, including three Americans.
Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channels YouTube, WhatsApp and to the newsletter. Turn on notifications and follow us on Facebook, x and instagram.
Add Comment