An American teacher arrested in Russia on drug charges more than four years ago has been designated by the US government as wrongfully detained, the State Department said on Friday.
Marc Fogel, a history teacher from Pennsylvania, is serving a 14-year prison sentence after being arrested in August 2021 at a Russian airport and possessing what his family and supporters said was medically prescribed marijuana.
After Fogel was omitted from a massive prisoner swap last August that resulted in the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and corporate security executive Paul Whelan, among others, his family’s lawyers made another push for the Biden administration to secure his freedom, including by designating him as wrongfully detained.
The State Department considers a range of factors in deciding whether to designate an American jailed in a foreign country as wrongfully detained, including if there is credible information that the person is innocent. The factors also include if they are being held for the primary purpose of influencing US policy or securing concessions from the US government.
Officials confirmed on Friday that Fogel had now received that designation.
“The United States has been working to secure Marc Fogel’s release for some time. We have long called for his humanitarian release and tried to include him in the August 1 deal, but were unable to. The Secretary determined Marc is wrongfully detained in October,” the State Department said in a statement.
