Congress wants to know why Marc Fogel hasn't been declared 'wrongfully detained'

Nine members of Congress — including three from Western Pennsylvania — sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday, demanding to know why Oakmont’s Marc Fogel has not been classified as “wrongfully detained” in Russia.

Fogel, 61, has been held in Russia for 18 months for possessing a small amount of medical marijuana.

The letter from Congress comes more than two months after the United States negotiated a prisoner swap with Russia to free women’s basketball star Brittney Griner in exchange for a Russian arms dealer who was in prison here. Griner had been declared “wrongfully detained” by the federal government, but Fogel has not been.

“Although Brittney Griner’s case is nearly identical in certain respects, there is an apparent disparity of treatment between Ms. Griner and Mr. Fogel by the Biden Administration, especially when it comes with the apparent urgency with which the department briefs the Hill and reaches key decisions internally,” said the letter, signed by members of Congress, including U.S. Reps. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters; Mike Kelly, R-Butler; and Glenn Thompson, R-Centre County.

“The State Department has had ample opportunity to consider the designation of Mr. Fogel and communicate with Congress in a classified setting. And yet, virtually nothing of substance has been shared, and Mr. Fogel still languishes in prison,” the letter added.

The letter asks the State Department to immediately transmit copies of all documents, memoranda, advisory legal opinions, meeting notes, audio recordings and correspondence related to the review of Fogel’s case by March 1.

Fogel was detained in August 2021 when he was returning to Moscow to begin his 10th and final year of teaching at the Anglo American School there.

Fogel was arrested after arriving with his wife, Jane, at Sheremetyevo International Airport on Aug. 14. He was in possession of about 17 grams of prescribed medical marijuana used to treat chronic pain from a debilitating spinal condition.

Authorities charged him with drug smuggling and drug possession. He pleaded guilty to both counts and was sentenced to serve 14 years in a maximum security penal colony — a punishment in Russia that is typically reserved for high-volume drug dealers and killers.

Fogel was transferred to the penal colony IK-2 in Rybinsk, a small town 200 miles north of Moscow, in November.

Conditions there, his family said, are somewhat better than where he previously had been held. They said Fogel has been able to call them since he was moved.

Fogel, a beloved teacher who has taught in six countries, including Oman, Colombia, Venezuela and Malaysia, has not received nearly as much attention for his imprisonment in Russia as other Americans have.

It is a point of contention among some members of Congress, who have said it is unfair that because of Griner’s celebrity status she received more attention than a man who dedicated his life to teaching.

Fogel’s family and members of Congress have asked that Fogel be designated as wrongfully detained under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act. Such a classification would allow for additional government resources to be used to help free him.

Wednesday’s letter suggests that Fogel’s case meets at least six of the 11 criteria under the act, including that he is being detained substantially because he is an American citizen; that his detention is being used to influence U.S. policy, specifically to obtain a prisoner swap; and the Russian judicial system is not independent and is susceptible to corruption.