With Gilman's release from Russia, families of other detained Americans hope their relatives will be next
David Barnes, 69, is serving the longest sentence of any American in Russia.
When U.S. Marine Corps veteran Robert Gilman was released Tuesday after more than four years in Russian custody, Carol Barnes was paying close attention as Gilman flew home with his mother on his way to see the rest of his family in a Texas military hospital.
"I'm happy for them, but I want to be happy for all the Americans to come home," she told ABC News in an interview Tuesday. "This is where they belong."
Her 69-year-old brother, David Barnes, is serving the longest sentence of any of the Americans who remain incarcerated in Russia. The Huntsville, Alabama, native was living in The Woodlands, Texas, ahead of his detention in Moscow in 2022.
"He's always very upbeat," Carol Barnes said, "I don't think he tells us everything that really goes on because he doesn't want to worry us."
David Barnes was arrested by Russian police just four days before Gilman, 32, was taken into custody.
While the two men entered the Russian penal system around the same time, their cases differ significantly.
Gilman allegedly fought with a Russian police officer at a transportation hub, while David Barnes was accused by Moscow prosecutors of criminal conduct not in Russia, but in Texas.
David Barnes' relatives previously told ABC News he traveled to Russia at the end of 2021 to try to gain visitation or custody rights to his sons through Moscow's family court system after his Russian ex-wife, Svetlana Koptyaeva, had allegedly committed a felony by taking their children to her native country following bitter divorce and child custody proceedings in Montgomery County, Texas.
Upon learning of David Barnes' arrival in Russia, his family says she contacted law enforcement in Moscow and accused him of having abused the two boys in Texas years earlier.
Russian police arrested David Barnes on these allegations and was ultimately sentenced by a Moscow judge to more than two decades in a penal colony, even though Texas law enforcement had no involvement in the Russian trial and previously found the allegations to not be credible after conducting their own investigation in response to Koptyaeva's claims.
Koptyaeva, who has maintained to ABC News that the allegations against David Barnes are true, was criminally charged with interference with child custody in Texas and David Barnes was eventually designated by a Texas judge as his sons' primary guardian, even though the children were out of the country.
"The case against his wife is still open and the warrant is still active," Montgomery County, Texas, First Assistant District Attorney Kelly Blackburn told ABC News Tuesday. "There are still no charges on Mr. Barnes in Montgomery County."
Gilman was released from Russian detention on humanitarian grounds following recent health concerns.
His release came after multiple other Americans previously detained in Russia, including Brittney Griner, Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, have returned to the U.S. through exchanges.
"During my Administration, we have prioritized bringing home Americans Detained Abroad, and have done so at a level never seen before," President Donald Trump wrote on social media on Tuesday.
"We must also never forget that there are still more than five other Americans detained in Russia," U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said in a statement Tuesday. "I urge the Trump administration to use Robert's case as motivation to continue to advocate for the release of others wrongfully detained in Russia and around the world."
Aleksandr Antonov, Olga Jezler, Andre Khachatoorian, Stephen Hubbard and Chuck Zimmerman are among the Americans who continue to be held in Russia. Kieran Ramsey of Global Reach, which represents several families of detained Americans, said a number of them have experienced major health challenges.
A State Department spokesperson told ABC News that, "this Administration will continue to work for the release of all Americans unjustly detained in Russia. ..."
"Our hope is that none of them have to reach this critical stage for action to occur and that we've set the pathway for humanitarian releases for Americans who are wrongfully detained in Russia," Ramsey told ABC News.
Carol Barnes said she dreams of one day being at the airport and being able to run toward her brother as he gets off a flight from Russia.
"When I see him, I'm probably not going to let go of him for a long time," she said.
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