Following the good news that Russia released Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, as part of a major prisoner exchange with the U.S., Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman and Reps. Mike Kelly, Chris Deluzio and Guy Reschenthaler want Pennsylvania’s Marc Fogel, in a Russian prison for cannabis possession, to be included in the deal.

"As news of a potential prisoner exchange is being reported, we urge that any swap include Pennsylvania's Marc Fogel, along with Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich," said the lawmakers said in a statement. "Marc is a Pennsylvania teacher with severe health issues who has been unjustly imprisoned in a Russian prison for three years, and as the congressional members who represent Marc and his family, we have been pushing to bring Marc home as quickly as possible. As negotiations are ongoing with the Russian Federation, we respectfully request that any potential prisoner swap include Marc Fogel."

Read Also: Russia Frees WSJ Reporter Evan Gershkovich And Ex-Marine Paul Whelan In Major Prisoner Swap With US

Who Is Marc Fogel?

Fogel, who is in his sixties, was sentenced to 14 years in a Russian penal colony in July 2022 after he was arrested in August 2021 for possessing medical marijuana, which was prescribed by a doctor in the U.S.

Fogel, who previously worked at the U.S. embassy in Moscow, was employed as an English teacher at the Anglo-American School at the time of his arrest.

Malphine Fogel has been fighting to bring her son home since his arrest.

“He has missed so much with his family. His youngest son graduated from college,” she told Pittsburgh's Action News 4 at the time. “The birthdays and wedding anniversary and, you know, it’s just really, really hard,”

Now She’s Taking Secretary Blinken To Court

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that when it comes to Gershkovich, Whelan and other Americans wrongfully detained in Russia and elsewhere, the U.S. is working on the cases "quite literally every day.”

Great thought although Malphine Fogel wants to know why the U.S. State Department has not designated her son as "wrongfully detained" as was the case with Brittney Griner, also arrested in Russia for cannabis possession. Griner was released in a prisoner exchange in December 2022 for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Malphine Fogel, seeking to understand why her son did not receive that same treatment, filed a lawsuit against Blinken at the end of June asking why the secretary of state had not designated her son as “wrongfully detained.”

“For years, the Department of State has actively deterred Marc Fogel’s family members from pursuing a Wrongfully Detained designation,” the lawsuit states.

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Photo: Russian prison by Stanislav Kozlovskiy via Wikimedia Commons