A landmark prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Russia headlined by the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan didn’t include a Pennsylvania man imprisoned nearly three years.
Marc Fogel remains in Russia where he was detained in August 2021 for possessing medical marijuana when he reentered the country for an international teaching assignment.
According to The Washington Post, Fogel possessed less than a half-ounce of medical marijuana legally dispensed in the U.S. for chronic back pain.
Fogel, 63, is a native of Butler County who lived in the Pittsburgh suburb of Oakmont. He was sentenced in June 2022 to serve 14 years in prison.
“This 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. 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,” U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said Thursday in a statement.
The Associated Press reports 24 prisoners were exchanged, the largest in post-Soviet history. The exchange took place in Turkey and included Alsu Kurmasheva, also a U.S. citizen, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a dual Russian-U.K. citizen who holds a U.S. green card.
A statement from President Joe Biden noted the exchange marked the release of more than 70 such prisoners during his term in The White House but that too many families remain suffering for those held captive abroad.
“Today, we celebrate the return of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir and rejoice with their families. We remember all those still wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world. And reaffirm our pledge to their families: We see you. We are with you. And we will never stop working to bring your loved ones home where they belong,” Biden’s statement said.
Members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation including U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly, Guy Reschenthaler and Chris Deluzio along with U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Casey issued a joint statement earlier Thursday on the news of the prisoner exchange. They called for Fogel’s release.
“Marc is a Pennsylvania teacher with severe health issues who has been unjustly imprisoned in a Russian prison for three years, and as the congressional members who represent Marc and his family, we have been pushing to bring Marc home as quickly as possible. As negotiations are ongoing with the Russian Federation, we respectfully request that any potential prisoner swap include Marc Fogel,” the lawmakers said jointly as details of the exchange were initially emerging.
Lawmakers including Kelly and Casey have called for Fogel’s release since his detention. The bulk of Pennsylvania’s entire congressional delegation signed a letter in December, not the first, urging Secretary of State Antony Blinken to include Fogel in any potential prisoner swap. In June, a bipartisan concurrent resolution introduced by Casey calling for Fogel’s release unanimously cleared the Senate. The resolution awaits action in the House.
WNBA star Brittney Griner, herself imprisoned in Russia for marijuana possession, was released in December 2022 in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, nicknamed “The Merchant of Death.”
Fogel was among the prisoners also sought in the exchange at that time, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a news conference Thursday.
“We are actively continuing to do so and are engaged in active discussion on how we can get to that, how we can get to a path to bring him home,” Jean-Pierre said of Fogel.
“Today was a very good day and we’re going to build on it,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said at the press conference.
On Fogel, Sullivan said, “We are actively working to get his release from Russia as well.”