Oakmont native Marc Fogel, who has been held in a Moscow detention center for 14 months on a marijuana-related conviction, is being moved to a Russian hard-labor penal colony, his family said.

The move to the new facility — located a four- to five-hour train ride away from the detention center — can last up to three weeks and is very much unregulated and dangerous, said Fogel’s sister, Lisa Hyland of O’Hara.

During that time, his family has no way to communicate with him.

“We’re scared,” Hyland said. “We’re anxious.”

U.S Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, said he was on a call about Fogel with Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman last week that left him feeling disheartened. Members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation continue to push the Department of State to help him.

“My criticism is the lack of action and lack of urgency by the State Department,” Reschenthaler said. “I felt we were getting the wool pulled over our eyes on a lot of topics. I felt like we were getting fed a lot of gobbledygook.”

A State Department spokesperson said that they could not comment on any of the discussions between Sherman and Reschenthaler or the specifics of Fogel’s case because of privacy considerations. Generally, they said, they continuously review the circumstances surrounding the detention of U.S. citizens abroad for indicators that they are wrongful.

Related

• Family seeks release of Oakmont teacher being held in Russian prison • U.S. senators request State Department declre Oakmont man jailed in Russia 'wrongfully detained' • Editorial: Push for Marc Fogel's release unites right and left

In addition, they said, they continue to insist that Russia allow “consistent, timely consular access” to all American detainees.

Fogel, 61, was detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport on Aug. 14, 2021, as he returned to Moscow to teach in his 10th and final year at the Anglo American School there before retiring.

When he and his wife, Jane, arrived at the airport, Fogel had with him 17 grams of medical marijuana, which had been prescribed to treat chronic pain from a spinal condition.

He was charged with drug smuggling and drug possession, and was held in custody pending trial.

Fogel, who taught internationally for 35 years, attended several hearings in Khimkinsky Moscow Region Court between April and June, and pleaded guilty to both counts.

Although he had cooperated and shown proof of his medical conditions, Fogel was ordered to serve 14 years in a maximum-security penal colony — a sentence in Russia usually handed down to high-volume drug traffickers or killers.

His family has likened it to a death sentence.

Since that time, Fogel’s loved ones have embarked on a letter-writing campaign to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, gotten support from former Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul and received assistance from members of Congress.

They are asking that Fogel be labeled “wrongfully detained,” which would allow for additional U.S. government resources to be committed to securing his release. With that designation, jurisdiction would move to the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Ambassador Roger Carstens.

Hyland said the family has had two face-to-face meetings with the State Department, as well as Zoom calls and emails. Despite their efforts, no such designation has been given, and Fogel’s family has not been given a reason why.

“Unfortunately, these efforts will not result in Marc’s return until the State Department steps up and makes Marc’s release the priority it needs to be,” said Sasha Phillips, an attorney working on the case.

Getting Fogel labeled as wrongfully detained by the State Department is essential, she said.

“It is his only hope for surviving this horrible ordeal. Considering the harsh conditions of the Russian prison system, the current political climate and Marc’s deteriorating health, he desperately needs the U.S. government to bring him home,” Phillips said.

In late August, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania, sent a letter to Blinken with bipartisan support from eight other senators, including Marco Rubio, R-Florida; John Hickenlooper, D-Colorado; Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia; and Tim Kaine, D-Virginia.

“The United States cannot stand by as Mr. Fogel wastes away in a Russian hard labor camp,” they wrote.

The Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act lays out 11 criteria for the wrongfully detained designation.

In Fogel’s case, the senators wrote, he meets six, including that he is being detained substantially because he is an American citizen; that his detainment is being used to influence U.S. policy, specifically to obtain a prisoner swap; and the Russian judicial system is not independent and susceptible to corruption.

The letter referenced Fogel’s imminent transfer to a penal colony.

According to a State Department 2021 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Russia, the senators wrote, “conditions in prisons and detention centers … were often harsh and life-threatening. Overcrowding, abuse by guards and inmates, limited access to health care, food shortages, and inadequate sanitation were common.”

The letter urges the State Department to shift its strategy.

“We cannot allow Mr. Fogel to be used as a political pawn by (Russian President) Vladimir Putin.”

Then last week, Reschenthaler said, he and three other congressmen had the call with the deputy Secretary of State.

She told them that there was not clear and convincing evidence that Fogel met the Levinson criteria, Reschenthaler said.

He called that perspective “laughable,” and said that when he pushed back, asserting that Fogel meets at least six of them, Sherman told him, “This takes time.”

But, Reschenthaler countered, the administration declared WNBA star Brittney Griner — who has been held in Russia since February, also on marijuana charges— to be wrongfully detained within days.

He criticized the administration for seemingly prioritizing Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan, who have both been considered for a prisoner swap, over Fogel.

“The difference is Fogel is a Pittsburgh history teacher and not a celebrity basketball player,” Reschenthaler said. “Why isn’t Fogel in that package?”

In the meantime, Hyland said, her brother continues to deteriorate.

Fogel has already had his initial appeal hearing. It lasted 15 minutes, his sister said. No questions were asked, and the appeal was denied.

His next appeal will be heard by a new judge, she said, and is expected to take about six months.

The family is not confident it will be successful.

“We don’t believe it’s based on the merits,” Hyland said. “It’s just a political issue at this point.”

Fogel’s attorneys in Moscow last saw him on Sept. 10, she said.

While they were able to take food to him at the detention center, she said they primarily were there to support him emotionally.

“He’s devastated,” Hyland said. “He’s very distraught.”

Fogel spent most of the month of July in a medical detention facility, she said.

Dr. Daniel R. Steiner, Fogel’s primary care doctor since 2013, reviewed his July 27 medical discharge summary from the detention facility.

In a letter, Steiner described Fogel’s treatment as lacking and inadequate. It listed increased pain in his back radiating into his left leg and numbness in his left leg and foot.

“Without proper medical attention, Marc’s health will continue to deteriorate and may eventually result in progressive pain, weakness, dysfunction and/or permanent disability,” Steiner wrote.

The move to the penal colony is especially worrisome, Hyland said, given that Russian prisoners have also been subject to conscription to fight in the war with Ukraine.

“This would be a really, really stressful situation if there wasn’t a war going on,” Hyland said. “You layer that on top, and you don’t know where to turn emotionally.”

Phillips said Fogel’s Russian attorneys laid out for him how to behave during his transport to the penal colony. She called it “disturbing guidance.”

Among the rules, she said, is to avoid offending his fellow inmates, including refraining from any kind of cultural gestures. For example, sticking out your tongue at someone could lead to a prisoner having his teeth knocked out.

The guidance also warns against communicating with or touching an inmate who is low in the prison hierarchy. Even accidentally doing so can lead to severe consequences, she said.

The only communication with Fogel for his family since his initial arrest has been through letters that are censored.

“He has never, ever been granted a phone call,” Hyland said.

In their last batch of letters, she said, the family tried to keep an optimistic tone.

“We all did the best we could to tell him we wouldn’t stop working on his behalf and how much we love him and can’t wait for him to come home.”

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---