The 95-year-old mother of an American teacher who has been imprisoned in Russia for the past three years has criticized the Biden administration for not including her son in the most recent prisoner swap that freed three imprisoned Americans, including Evan Gershkovich.
Marfin Fogel said he was disappointed that his son, Mark Fogel, 65, was once again overlooked by President Biden’s negotiators after he was arrested in 2021 trying to enter Russia with about half an ounce of medical marijuana to treat a back injury.
“The news really brought it home to me,” Marfin told The Post.
“I don’t think the administration is doing enough for him,” she added, “because he’s a regular American citizen.”
The United States and Germany secured the release of Wall Street Journal reporters Evan Gershkovich, Ars Kurmasheva and Paul Whelan in the largest prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, but Mark remains in prison.
Marfin Vogel has long campaigned for her son’s release, noting that he has served longer in prison than Gershkovich and Kurmasheva and was arrested on the same charges as WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was released in 2022 after being arrested on similar charges as Mark.
She said that unlike Mr. Gershkovich, Ms. Kurmasheva and Ms. Whelan, her son has never been declared “wrongfully detained” by the State Department.
“We are very happy for those who have been released and their families,” Malfin said.[but] I don’t understand why Mark wasn’t included.”
She added that she has not heard directly from U.S. authorities about why her son remains in Russia.
Along with his grieving mother, Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Reps. Mike Kelly, Chris DelZio and Guy Reschenthaler, both of the Keystone State, had called for Mark to be included in Thursday’s exchange.
“While we celebrate today’s good news, we cannot forget Mark and the Vogel family,” Casey said in a statement.
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the U.S. would build on the success of Thursday’s release and continue to work to free those held in Russia, including Mark.
“We will continue to build on this case, drawing inspiration and ongoing courage from it for all those who have been held hostage or wrongfully detained around the world, including Mark Fogel, who is actively lobbying for his release from Russia,” Sullivan told reporters.
