Family of Oakmont teacher imprisoned in Russia looks for hope in Brittney Griner release

As WNBA star Brittney Griner traveled home to the United States after being released from a Russian prison Thursday as part of a prisoner swap between the countries, Oakmont native Marc Fogel remained in a penal colony north of Moscow unsure of when — or if — he would receive the same relief.

It has been about a month since Fogel arrived at the maximum security penal colony IK-2 in Rybinsk, a small town about 200 miles north of Moscow, to serve a 14-year sentence.

Fogel, 61, has been detained in Russia since August 2021 when authorities there found about 17 grams of medical marijuana in his luggage.

Since arriving at the penal colony, Fogel, a longtime teacher, has met with representatives from the American Embassy for two hours and been able to call his family in the United States several times.

But his family said Thursday they have received no word that a prisoner swap is in the works for him.

“It’s good that Brittney is on her way home. She doesn’t deserve to be there,” said Fogel’s sister Lisa Hyland, of O’Hara. “It’s devastating Marc’s not part of that. I just hope they’re working just as hard for him as they are for her.”

Hyland said her brother, who taught at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, is 30 years older than Griner and not in great health.

More on Marc Fogel:

• U.S. senators request State Department declare Oakmont man jailed in Russia 'wrongfully detained'
• Editorial: Push for Marc Fogel's release unites right and left

Griner was detained in Russia in February for possessing vape cartridges containing cannabis oil. President Joe Biden announced Thursday morning that she had been released in a one-for-one prisoner swap for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year prison sentence for conspiring to sell weapons intended to harm Americans.

In announcing the swap, Biden said his administration has not forgotten about other Americans being held in Russia and elsewhere.

He referenced Paul Whelan, a former Marine who has been detained since 2018 and is serving 16 years for espionage, and guaranteed that he would continue to work toward his release.

Biden made no reference to Fogel, who has served as a teacher in six countries over 35 years.

“He has never said my brother’s name that I’m aware of,” Hyland said. “It would be nice if they would at least mention him.”

Sasha Phillips, an attorney who has been working with Fogel’s family to secure his release, said that was disheartening.

“Not hearing Marc’s name among the Americans the U.S. government is publicly pledging to bring home is discouraging to say the least,” she said. “While the family received some assurances that Marc’s name has not dropped off the U.S. government radar, there have been no clear communications on the prospects of Marc’s return.”

Lawmakers call for Vogel’s release

Several members of Western Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation expressed similar feelings.

“While Ms. Griner and Paul Whelan’s cases have garnered national media attention over the past year, they are not the only Americans caught in the crosshairs of Vladimir Putin’s political games,” said U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton.

Casey cited Fogel’s medical conditions — including a debilitating spinal condition — and his career as a teacher.

“The Biden administration, and the nation, cannot forget about Marc. Like Ms. Griner and others, Marc deserves to see his family again,” Casey said.

U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Butler, said he was disappointed in the administration.

“I urge the administration to include Mr. Fogel in any future negotiations, and I am once again calling on the State Department to further designate Mr. Fogel as ‘wrongfully detained,’” Kelly said.

U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, called the prisoner swap “patently offensive” and said he thinks Fogel’s deserves increased media attention.

“Swapping a celebrity basketball player for the Merchant of Death, while excluding a Marine and a history teacher, is patently offensive and exposes the Biden administration’s deeply rooted disdain for everyday Americans,” Reschenthaler said.

Reschenthaler said he was particularly offended that the administration couldn’t get all three American prisoners in exchange for the international arms smuggler Bout.

“We’re giving up this war criminal for one person, and now we’re left without any leverage,” he said.

More on release of Brittney Griner:

• WNBA star Brittney Griner freed in U.S.-Russia prisoner swap
• Griner swap wasn't what U.S. hoped for, but what it could get
• Family of American prisoner Paul Whelan backs Griner deal

Biden said Russia would not consider anything other than a one-for-one swap between Griner and Bout. He said the Russian government was treating Whelan’s case differently.

Hyland said Fogel’s family has met three times with State Department officials in Washington, D.C., including Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan — the latter of whom Griner’s wife, Cherelle, thanked by name Thursday for his work securing her wife’s release.

Members of Congress and Fogel’s family have been working for months to have him declared wrongfully detained under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, which lays out 11 criteria for the designation.

Fogel’s advocates have said 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 that the Russian judicial system is not independent and is susceptible to corruption.

Being declared wrongfully detained would allow the U.S. government to use additional resources to secure his release. It also would move jurisdiction for his case to Ambassador Roger Carstens, the special envoy for hostage affairs.

Lynne Tracy, the nominee to become ambassador to the Russian Federation, told the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on Nov. 30 that she would work to secure Fogel’s release.

“I will press the Russian government to live up to its obligations, including as they relate to providing timely and consistent consular access and to the fair treatment of our citizens who are detained,” she said.

On Thursday, a State Department spokesperson would not comment on Fogel’s situation specifically.

“We take seriously our commitment to assist U.S. citizens abroad and providing all appropriate consular assistance,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We continue to insist that Russia allow consistent, timely consular access to all U.S. citizen detainees. We urge the Russian government to ensure fair treatment and appropriate medical care for all U.S. citizens detained in Russia.”

Conditions ‘as good as they can be’

On Nov. 22, staff members from the U.S. Embassy in Russia were permitted to visit with Fogel, Hyland said. The request to visit was granted quickly, and staff members were able to sit at a table with her brother for two hours, she said.

“They were pleasantly surprised,” she said.

The staff members described Fogel as thin but said he looked better than when they saw him during his trial over the summer.

“He feels like his conditions are as good as they can be,” Hyland said. “My brother’s nothing if not adaptable.”

Over the past few weeks, Hyland said Fogel has been able to make frequent calls to his family. Mostly, Hyland said, they talk about family and what’s happening at home.

“He wants to talk about anything but himself,” his sister said. “He’s been starved of that news for a long time.”

They recently talked about what books she’s reading, how the mid-term elections went and Hyland’s grandchildren.

Although the majority of the calls are upbeat, Hyland said, it becomes tearful when it’s time to say goodbye.

“He has demonstrated courage and strength of character that he’s been able to focus on life and trying to have a relationship with people he can’t see,” she said.

Hyland said Fogel is not working at the prison, but he has been helping other inmates learn English. He is staying in a barracks and not an individual cell. The food is basic but adequate. He was recently able to share cookies that someone else had.

“The conditions are much better than during the transfer process or in detention,” Hyland said.

‘If you don’t have hope, you don’t have anything’

At the White House on Thursday, Cherelle Griner said she and her wife will work to help secure the release of others.

“Today, my family is whole, but as you all are aware, there are so many other families who are not whole,” she said. “(Brittney Griner) and I will remain committed to the work of getting every American home, including Paul (Whelan).”

Hyland said she hopes that the Griners will assist her family in getting Fogel home, too.

“Maybe that’s something that could be helpful,” she said. “I thought it was good news to hear she said it. It was nice she took the time to think of them, too.”

Hyland said she feels somewhat encouraged.

“As a family member, you want to find this to be hopeful,” Hyland said. “Because if you don’t have hope, you don’t have anything.”