An American teacher that’s been imprisoned in Russia for three years wasn’t included with last week’s prisoner swap. Marc Fogel, age 63, was sentenced to 14 years for possessing medical marijuana in 2021. He worked with the Anglo-American School of Moscow where he taught overseas for 27 years. He was arrested the year he planned to retire. An American doctor had prescribed the weed after his surgeries.
The teacher felt terrible
Fogel spoke on a call to his family this past weekend. “I cannot believe this. I just don’t even want to get out of bed. I am shocked and sickened and out of breath and energy.”
He felt “like a second-class citizen”. The Biden-Harris administration prioritized a higher profile prisoner last time, WNBA player Brittney Griner over the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
The teacher’s faith has been shattered. “I think that teachers have just been shat upon. It’s hard to have any faith.”
Fogel is a simple teacher
His family noted that in a statement. “Marc is not rich, a celebrity, or connected to powerful patrons … This fight has been met … with stonewalling, double standards and — today — abandoning Marc to die in prison.”
Incredibly, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan dismissed the statement as not being “responsible”. Supposedly Sullivan “personally worked on” this case and said Marine Paul Whelan, who was also released, wasn’t “powerful or politically connected.”
But Free Marc Fogel spokesperson Vicki Iseman said multiple governments pushed for Whelan’s release since he’s a citizen of the UK, Ireland and Canada. During the call, Fogel asked if non-US citizens were released in the deal.
The teacher just wants his freedom
Iseman said, “I hate to tell you this, but yes.” The Fogel family is lobbying the administration to give him a “wrongly detained” designation.
This allows for finances to be put toward his medical care. Griner, Whalen, and Gershkovich all had that designation.
The state doesn’t want to give him that because they’re pushing for release on different grounds, humanitarian. Problem is, Russia has never released a prisoner on those grounds. Iseman said to Fogel, “I think we knew this administration is just not going to be there for you. I don’t know why, but regardless of that, there will be a new administration.”
