Pa. congressional members lobby Secretary of State to help Oakmont teacher in Russian prison

Eleven members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation on Wednesday sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging him to include an Oakmont teacher being detained in Russia for possessing medical marijuana in any possible prisoner exchange.

“Although he may not carry the notoriety of a celebrity WNBA athlete, we believe it is essential the Biden Administration work to bring (Marc) Fogel safely home to his family,” the letter said.

Marc Fogel, who grew up in Butler County and has spent 35 years teaching internationally. He was arrested on Aug. 14 at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow as he and his wife, Jane, were returning to teach at the Anglo American School there.

They were starting their 10th year.

However, airport officials found 17 grams of medical marijuana that Fogel had been prescribed for pain caused by a decades-long, chronic spinal condition.

Fogel, 61, was detained by Russian authorities, and pleaded guilty to drug smuggling and drug possession. Following several hearings, he was sentenced in June to serve 14 years incarceration in a maximum security penal colony.

His case is similar to that of American basketball star Brittney Griner, who was charged with possessing vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage in February. On Thursday, Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Last week, the Biden administration proposed a possible prisoner swap with Russia.

The potential exchange would return convicted Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout in exchange for Griner and Whelan, who is serving a 16-year prison sentence for espionage.

Fogel was not mentioned in the potential exchange, which U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, who led the effort to send the bipartisan letter to Blinken, called “appalling.”

When he learned about Fogel’s plight, Reschenthaler said, what struck him was “the juxtaposition of having a teacher imprisoned versus a sports celebrity.

“Teachers, I would submit are more valuable than pro athletes,” he said. “I was disgusted more efforts weren’t being made to bring Marc home.”

Reschenthaler called it “inherently wrong” that the administration and media have focused their attention on Griner and Whelan, and not included Fogel.

Both Griner and Whelan have been declared to be “wrongfully detained” by the U.S. State Department, which allows additional American resources to be used to try to free them.

Fogel has not received that designation, although in the letter to Blinken, the congressional members urged the State Department to do so and “ensure he is included in any negotiations to bring home American prisoners in Russia.”

“Brittney Griner’s wife received a call from President Joe Biden, but the family of Mr. Fogel has struggled to even receive a response from the State Department,” the letter said.

In addition to Reschenthaler, the letter was signed by U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pennsylvania, as well as U.S. Reps. Brendan F. Boyle, D-Philadelphia; Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills; Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia; Fred Keller, R-Snyder; Mike Kelly, R-Butler; Conor Lamb, D-Mt. Lebanon; Dan Meuser, R-Carbon; Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Warren and Susan Wild, D-Lehigh.

“We are grateful for the strong, bipartisan support from our Pennsylvania congressional delegation that has spoken with one voice to Secretary Blinken to swiftly designate Marc as ‘wrongfully detained,’” said Fogel’s sister, Lisa Hyland, of O’Hara.