WASHINGTON (KDKA) — Earlier this week, Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey and a group of bipartisan congressional leaders sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken asking him to declare Butler County native Marc Fogel wrongfully detained.
“We are writing to you with concern about the continued detention of Mr. Marc Fogel, a US citizen, a native of Southwestern Pennsylvania, and an international educator, and ask you to do everything in your power to bring Marc home,” the members said. write.
Fogel has been held in a Russian prison since August 2021 and has not been included in two separate prisoner exchanges with Russia.
Who is Marc Fogel?
Fogel was arrested in Moscow in August 2021 when he was accused of smuggling marijuana into the country.
Fogel and his wife flew back to Russia for their 10th and final year of teaching in the country, but Marc Fogel was detained at the airport in Moscow.
His family said he was carrying 17 grams of marijuana for medical reasons to treat chronic back pain.
Fogel and his wife live in Oakmont and Fogel grew up in Butler County. He is famous for his passion for teaching children all over the world, including Russia.
He was eventually sentenced to 14 years in a Russian prison and after his sentence, he was eventually transferred to a forced labor colony.
Fight to free Fogel
Since his arrest in Russia in 2021, his family, citizens, and congressional leaders have been fighting to bring him back.
Thousands of citizens signed a petition in 2022 asking the US government to do more to bring them back home.
Meanwhile, Sen. Bob Casey, Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, and others have consistently called on the Biden Administration and Sec. Blinken to increase their efforts.
“I put a letter together. We have not only bipartisan but bicameral support from the delegation of Pennsylvania. And hopefully, that shows that Pennsylvania, both Senate and House, stand united to ask Fogel back,” said Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (PA-14) ) in 2022.
In late 2022, the US and Russia conducted a prisoner swap that included WNBA player Brittney Griner, but not Fogel. At the time, his family called him a “political pawn” after his stay in Russia.
“I really think in my heart that they will lump the three together because they are trading for dangerous, real criminals. These three people are not criminals. It just doesn’t look like a trade even to me,” Malphine Fogel said.
As the war continues, earlier this month, the US and Russia announced another prisoner swap, and once again, Fogel was not included in the swap that brought home the Wall Street Journal reporter. Evan GershkovichVeteran Marine Paul Whelan and a Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.
“His 95-year-old mother, Malphine, is afraid that she will never see him again. While we celebrate the good news today, we cannot forget about Marc and the Fogel family,” said Senator Casey.
A day later, President Biden was asked about Fogel and said “We’re not giving up.”
Adm. John Kirby, the White House’s National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said he had not forgotten about Fogel.
“The Russians just refused to let him in,” Kirby said. “And we tried different times. I mean, from a very early stage when we knew we had to work on a new deal, we included Mr. Fogel. .”
Fogel remains in a Russian prison at the time of writing this story.