Andrew Harding
President Donald Trump’s commitment to bringing Americans home made all the difference to Marc Fogel. After enduring several grueling years of captivity in a Russian prison and not knowing when—or if—he would return home, it is a blessing to see him touch down on U.S. soil and be welcomed at the White House.
For me, Fogel’s return is not just a welcome headline. As a young American living in Moscow, his wife was one of my first teachers while I grew accustomed to attending a school in the heart of Russia. In 2012, Fogel’s wife, Jane, taught me sixth grade science. Fogel himself also taught at the school and many former classmates of mine took his history classes and viewed him as an excellent teacher and person. Although I never personally met Marc, I have always felt a strong connection to his case and desperately wanted to see him return home with his wife and family.
Fogel, a Pennsylvanian, was detained in 2021 for possessing less than an ounce of medical cannabis prescribed for chronic back pain. He was sentenced to 14 years in a Russian penal colony on charges of drug smuggling and possession. Despite years of pleas by his family to be included in prisoner swaps, the Biden administration was unable to secure his release.
Heritage: President-Elect Trump’s Strong Leadership Key in Hostage Deal
It was immediately clear that the Russians were wrongfully detaining Fogel. However, the Biden administration did not legally declare him as such. By contrast, the Biden administration almost immediately declared WNBA player Brittney Griner as “wrongfully detained” for nearly identical circumstances.
This designation matters because it requires the U.S. government to actively work to gain the wrongfully detained American’s release, transfer the case to hostage and detainee negotiators, and allocate additional resources to the case. » Read More
https://www.heritage.org/global-politics/commentary/marc-fogel-taught-my-school-russia-americans-should-thank-president