By Patrick Damp
WASHINGTON (KDKA) - One Pennsylvania senator is gathering the support of fellow congressional leaders to encourage U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to do everything he can to bring Marc Fogel home from a Russian prison.
A Butler County native and teacher, Fogel is currently serving a 14-year sentence in Russia for possessing medical marijuana.
He was not part of the United States' most recent prisoner swap with Russia.
Senator Bob Casey was joined by Senators John Fetterman, Jon Tester (D-MT), Chris Coons (D-DE), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and U.S. Representatives Madeleine Dean (D-PA-4), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-5), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-6), Susan Wild (D-PA-7), Summer Lee (D-PA-12), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA-14), Gleen Thompson (R-PA-15), Mike Kelly (R-PA-16), and Chris Deluzio (D-PA-17) in urging Blinken to bring Fogel home and designate his imprisonment as "wrongfully detained."
"We write to you with the gravest of concerns regarding the continued detention of Mr. Marc Fogel, a U.S. citizen, native of Southwestern Pennsylvania, and international educator, and ask that you do everything in your power to bring Marc home," the members wrote. "Designating Marc as "wrongfully detained" will underscore the political nature of his continued detention by the Russian government and the failure of humanitarian and other efforts thus far to bring about Marc's release. It will also demonstrate that the U.S. government considers his case to be of equal importance to similar cases Finally, it will bring to the family resources, such as a Family Engagement team, that can consistently support and communicate with Marc's family."
The full text of the letter can be found here.
Following the prisoner swap earlier this month that saw the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Marine Paul Whelan, and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, Fogel's family spoke out about him not being part of the swap.
"Marc called me yesterday morning and when I realized that he was in Rybinsk, I knew that things were not going well," Marc's sister Anne said.
The White House has said they were working to get Fogel home but were unable.
"The Russians just weren't willing to throw him into the mix," said Admiral John Kirby, the national security coordinator for strategic communications. "And we tried many different times. I mean, from a very, very early stage here when we knew we had to work on a new deal, we included Mr. Fogel. Regrettably, they just, they just weren't biting at it."
Fogel has been detained in a Russian prison since August 2021.
###
