The recent release of Marine veteran Robert Gilman from Russian custody ended more than four years of imprisonment, but his visibly frail condition has raised alarming questions for the families of Americans still detained there. Watching the news coverage from the United States, Harold Jezler saw Gilman's gaunt appearance and immediately worried about what it meant for his 36-year-old wife, Olga, who has been held in Russia since 2022 while suffering from her own deteriorating health issues. "You just look at the pictures and the guy is not in good shape.
It’s concerning for me and for all the families, I would imagine," Jezler said in an interview with The . "Is this what it takes for the government to really make a move and prioritize this — that the person is basically in dire straits? It was a very bittersweet thing to see that." Although Gilman’s freedom follows a series of prisoner releases over recent years, numerous Americans remain incarcerated in Russia.
Relatives and advocates report that several suffer from unaddressed or inadequately treated medical conditions, escalating the urgency of diplomatic efforts to secure their freedom. Those still captive include a Navy veteran with a gastrointestinal condition, a man suffering from an autoimmune disease, another with severe dental damage, and Olga Jezler, who was diagnosed with endometriosis—a condition involving abnormal tissue growth from the uterus that can cause severe pain and infertility. "These are American citizens who are innocent of violations of Russian law.
They're being held in Russia because they are Americans or because they have American status, and we shouldn't need to wait for their health to be on the brink of death for there to be an urgency to bring them home," said Eric Lebson, chief strategy officer for Global Reach, an advocacy firm representing several Americans jailed in Russia. The State Department noted that it remains aware of these medical concerns and raises them regularly with Russian authorities. A message sent to the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service seeking comment went unanswered.
Former detainee Paul Whelan noted that despite likely receiving better care than typical prisoners due to his high-profile espionage charges—which Washington called baseless—his five years in Russian captivity revealed a severely lacking system. Whelan recalled that during the COVID-19 pandemic, guards handed out extra raw onions as a makeshift immunity measure. Dental care often meant extracting teeth rather than restoring them, while inmates relied on makeshift bandages and traded with guards for fresh produce.
During an emergency nighttime hernia operation, Whelan witnessed surgical tools dropped on the floor being placed directly back onto the operating tray. "The poor conditions are part of the punishment," said Whelan, who was freed in 2024 in a blockbuster prisoner swap. "You are supposed to get less of everything than normal citizens would get." Substandard medical treatment in Russian facilities has drawn international scrutiny for years, notably following the 2009 death of whistleblower lawyer Sergei Magnitsky from untreated pancreatitis, and the case of Trevor Reed, a Marine veteran released in 2022 after coughing up blood and suffering from a broken rib and lung pain.
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