The State Department has announced that an American teacher arrested on drug charges at a Russian airport more than three years ago has been found to have been wrongfully detained by the U.S. government.
Mark Fogel, a history teacher from Pennsylvania, is serving a 14-year prison sentence after being arrested at a Russian airport in August 2021 on drug possession charges, but his family and supporters say the drugs were not present. It was said to be medically prescribed marijuana.
Vogel was left out of a major prisoner exchange in August that freed several Americans, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and corporate security chief Paul Whelan.
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Lisa Hyland (left) and other family members of Mark Fogel, who has been detained in Russia since August 2021, gather in front of the White House in preparation for his release in Washington on July 15, 2023. (AP)
After more than a dozen Germans were also freed in a prisoner exchange, lawyers for Vogel's family again called on the Biden administration to try to secure his freedom, including by designating him a wrongful detainee. .
In choosing whether to designate a U.S. person imprisoned in a foreign country as a wrongful detainer, the State Department determines whether there is reliable information that the person is innocent, which primarily influences U.S. policy. It takes into account several factors, including whether the detention is for the purpose of securing concessions or concessions from the United States. US government.
“The United States has been working for some time to secure the release of Mark Fogel,” the State Department said in a statement. “We have sought his humanitarian release for many years and tried to include him in the August 1st agreement, but were unable to do so. The Secretary determined that Mark was being unfairly detained in October. ”
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined in October that Mark Fogel was being unlawfully detained, according to the State Department. (Photo courtesy of Ellen Kieran and Lisa Hyland)
Traditionally, when someone is designated as an unlawful detainer, oversight of the case shifts to the Office of the President's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs within the State Department, which works to release hostages and other Americans classified as being unlawfully detained abroad. The focus is on negotiation.
Vogel's wife Jane and sons Ethan and Sam said in a statement that the State Department “confirmed what we have known all along: that our husband and father, Mark Fogel, was wronged. I am grateful that he has finally acknowledged that he continues to be treated unfairly.” Detained. ”
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Exterior view of the State Department complex seen in Washington, DC, March 14, 2023 (Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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“Now that we have the full support of the U.S. government, we must do everything in our power to bring Mark home as quickly and safely as possible,” the family continued.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
