An American school teacher imprisoned on cannabis charges continues to wait for his release from a Russian penal colony after being left out of a high-profile international prisoner exchange. The exchange, which freed American journalist Evan Gerskovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan among nearly two dozen additional prisoners, did not include medical cannabis patient Marc Fogel, who has been in the custody of Russian authorities for three years.
Fogel, a teacher at the Anglo-American School of Moscow, was detained in August 2021 and charged with smuggling less than an ounce of medical cannabis into the country. Fogel had a recommendation to use medical cannabis to treat a back injury, although the plant remains illegal under Russian law. Fogel was sentenced to serve a 14-year sentence in a penal colony, where he teaches English to fellow prisoners, according to a report from the Washington Post.
On Thursday, the Biden administration announced that a deal had been reached to exchange a total of 24 prisoners being held by Russia, Germany, and several other Western countries. The deal included the release of Whelan, Gerskovich, and Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist with dual U.S.-Russia citizenship. Russia also released seven of its citizens being held as political prisoners while securing the release of a Russian assassin being held in Germany and several spies.
But Fogel was not included in what has been characterized as the largest prisoner exchange between Russia and the United States since the Soviet era. He was also not part of a prisoner swap in 2022 that saw WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was also being held by Russia on cannabis charges, released in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
“Today, Marc was left behind again,” Fogel’s wife and sons said in a statement calling on the Biden administration to secure his release. “Marc has been unjustly detained for far too long and must be prioritized in any swap negotiations with Russia, regardless of his level of notoriety or celebrity.”
Fogel’s family noted that he has “severe health issues,” adding, “We sincerely hope that this is not our last opportunity to bring him home and save him from potentially dying in a Russian prison.”
Lawmakers Call for Fogel’s Release
Fogel, of Oakmont, Pennsylvania, had the support of his state’s congressional delegation going into negotiations for the prisoner swap. U.S. Senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman and Reps. Mike Kelly, Chris Deluzio, and Guy Reschenthaler all lobbied for the imprisoned school teacher to be included in the exchange, citing Fogel’s health and maintaining that he is being held unjustly.
“I am disappointed to hear that Butler County native Marc Fogel was not a part of the prisoner swap today between the United States and Russia. Since he was imprisoned in Russia in 2021, I have repeatedly called on the Biden Administration to include Mr. Fogel in any future release,” Kelly, who represents the district Fogel is from, said in a statement. “I’m saddened not only for Marc, but also for his 95-year-old mother, Malphine Fogel, and Marc’s family, who have been without him for more than 1,000 days.”
After the prisoner exchange was made public, a senior Biden administration official told reporters, “We absolutely wanted Marc to be included, but it just wasn’t going to happen.”
“Just like when we got Brittney out, we tried very hard for both Paul and Marc, and we just couldn’t get the Russians there,” he said. “In this case, we could get Paul; we couldn’t get Marc.”
Fogel’s attorney, Martin De Luca, said in a statement that this was “the second high-profile swap that Marc has been left out of over the last three years” and that Fogel had been “caught in the diplomatic crossfire between the U.S. and Russia leading up to the war in Ukraine.”
He also urged the Biden administration to “finally designate Marc as wrongfully detained.”
Casey, the senior senator from Pennsylvania, said in a statement that the “prisoner swap is good news for Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and their families, but Marc Fogel is still sitting in a Russian prison.”
“Marc Fogel is a teacher from Pittsburgh with chronic health issues whose health has declined significantly during his imprisonment,” Casey continued. “His 95-year-old mother, Malphine, fears she will never see him again. As we celebrate the good news of today, we cannot forget about Marc and the Fogel family.”
