Russian Court Sentences US Citizen Gilman to Over 7 Years in Prison on Assault Charges

The Russian flag waves in the wind on the rooftop of the Consulate General of Russia in San Francisco, California, US, September 2, 2017. (Reuters)
The Russian flag waves in the wind on the rooftop of the Consulate General of Russia in San Francisco, California, US, September 2, 2017. (Reuters)
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Russian Court Sentences US Citizen Gilman to Over 7 Years in Prison on Assault Charges

The Russian flag waves in the wind on the rooftop of the Consulate General of Russia in San Francisco, California, US, September 2, 2017. (Reuters)
The Russian flag waves in the wind on the rooftop of the Consulate General of Russia in San Francisco, California, US, September 2, 2017. (Reuters)

A Russian court on Monday sentenced US citizen and ex-Marine Robert Gilman to seven years and one month in prison for assaulting a prison official and a state investigator, the local prosecutor's office said.
Gilman, 30, is already serving a 3-1/2-year sentence for attacking a police officer while drunk, a charge he was convicted of in October 2022.
Prosecutors in Voronezh, a city about 300 miles (500 km) south of Moscow where Gilman is incarcerated, said he had attacked a prison employee and a state investigator on separate occasions in the autumn of 2023.
Reuters was not immediately able to contact a lawyer for Gilman. The US Embassy in Moscow did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Russian state news agency RIA said Gilman, whose lawyers have previously told the TASS state news agency that he had come to Russia to study and obtain citizenship, had pleaded guilty to all the charges.
RIA cited Gilman as telling the court last week that he had been forced to use violence after the prison inspector had caused pain to his genitalia and after the investigator had insulted his father.
Gilman is one of at least 10 US nationals behind bars in Russia over two months after a prisoner swap between Moscow and the West on Aug. 1 freed 24 people, including three Americans.



30 People Die in a Crash between a Passenger Bus and a Truck in Brazil

A general view of Brazil's National Congress during sunset in Brasilia, Brazil, June 11, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A general view of Brazil's National Congress during sunset in Brasilia, Brazil, June 11, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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30 People Die in a Crash between a Passenger Bus and a Truck in Brazil

A general view of Brazil's National Congress during sunset in Brasilia, Brazil, June 11, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A general view of Brazil's National Congress during sunset in Brasilia, Brazil, June 11, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

A crash between a passenger bus and a truck early Saturday killed 30 people on a highway in Minas Gerais, a state in southeastern Brazil, officials said.

The Minas Gerais fire department, which responded to the scene, said 13 others were taken to hospitals near the city of Teofilo Otoni. The bus had reportedly departed from Sao Paulo and was carrying 45 passengers.

Authorities said the bus blew a tire, causing the driver to lose control and collide with a truck. A car with three passengers also collided with the bus, but all three survived, according to the fire department, The AP reported.

Rescue teams are working on the accident site and there are still more victims to be removed, said Lt. Alonso of the fire department.

Gov. Romeu Zema wrote on X that he ordered “full mobilization” of the Minas Gerais government to assist the victims.

“We are working to ensure that families of the victims are supported to face this tragedy in the most humane way possible, especially as it comes just before Christmas,” Zema said.

In 2024, more than 10,000 people died in traffic accidents in Brazil, according to the Ministry of Transportation.

In September, a bus carrying a football team flipped on a road and killed three people. The Coritiba Crocodiles, a team from the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba, was headed to a game in Rio de Janeiro, where they were set to play in the country’s American football championship. The game was canceled following the deadly accident.