Marc Fogel
Marc Fogel | |
|---|---|
| Born | Marc Hilliard Fogel 1959 (age 64–65) |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Detainment | |
| Country | Russia |
| Detained | August 2021 |
| Conviction | Drug trafficking |
| Charge | 14 years in prison |
| Time held | 2 years, 6 months and 22 days |
Marc Hilliard Fogel (born 1959) is an American schoolteacher who was arrested in August 2021 by Russian authorities for trying to enter Russia with 0.6 ounces (17 g) of medical marijuana. In June 2022, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.[1][2][3]
Life and career
Fogel is from Pennsylvania. He attended the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.[4] He has been a history teacher at international schools in Colombia, Malaysia, Oman, and Venezuela. He lived and worked in Russia since 2012, teaching at the Anglo-American School of Moscow.[5]
Arrest and imprisonment
In August 2021, Fogel was entering Russia through customs at Sheremetyevo Airport when around half an ounce of medical marijuana was found in his luggage. The substance had been prescribed to him in the United States to treat chronic pain.[6]
In June 2022, Fogel was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to 14 years in prison. In October 2022, he was transferred from a detention center in Moscow to a penal colony, where he will serve the remainder of his sentence.[7]
A bipartisan group of United States senators have lobbied for the State Department to designate Fogel as wrongfully detained.[8] In May 2022, the US State Department designated Brittney Griner as being “wrongfully detained” but so far have not done so for Fogel, despite the similarity of the two cases. Fogel’s case has not generated the public attention that Griner’s case garnered.[9] Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey has voiced his dissatisfaction with the Biden administration’s handling of the case.[10]
Fogel’s family has called on Brittney Griner (who was imprisoned but released in a prisoner exchange in 2022) to speak out on his case.[11]
References
- ^ Roig-Franzia, Manuel (July 28, 2022). "This American teacher also sits in a Russian jail, worried nobody cares". The Washington Post.
- ^ Hopkins, Valerie (December 9, 2022). "Here's a look at two Americans still detained in Russian penal colonies". The New York Times.
- ^ Atwood, Kylie (August 26, 2022). "US asked Russia to release American Marc Fogel on humanitarian grounds, his family says". CNN.
- ^ "Butler County native Marc Fogel remains imprisoned in Russia after Griner prisoner swap". December 8, 2022.
- ^ "Marc Fogel Still in Russia for Marijuana After Griner Freed". Time. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
- ^ "Marc Fogel Still in Russia for Marijuana After Griner Freed". Time. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
- ^ Ward, Ian (December 10, 2022). "The Other American Jailed in Russia on Marijuana Charges". Politico.
- ^ "Bipartisan group of senators urge State Department to designate American teacher as 'wrongfully detained' in Russia | CNN Politics". CNN. August 23, 2022.
- ^ Ward, Ian. "The Other American Jailed in Russia on Marijuana Charges". POLITICO.
- ^ "Sen. Bob Casey 'not satisfied' with Biden administration's handling of Marc Fogel's case". www.cbsnews.com.
- ^ "Family of American teacher in Russian prison calls on Brittney Griner to speak out for those left behind". CBS News.
- 1959 births
- Living people
- Schoolteachers from Pennsylvania
- American people convicted of drug offenses
- American people imprisoned in Russia
- American expatriates in Colombia
- American expatriates in Malaysia
- American expatriates in Oman
- American expatriates in Russia
- American expatriates in Venezuela
- Cannabis in Russia
- Indiana University of Pennsylvania alumni
- 20th-century American educators
- 21st-century American educators