Feb. 11 (UPI) — Russian officials have released American teacher Marc Fogel after the Trump administration successfully negotiated his release. He had served 3.5 years of a 14-year sentence for what Moscow had said was cannabis smuggling.
Fogel, 63, was an American teacher working in Russia when Russian customs agents found a half ounce of marijuana in his luggage in August 2021.
Fogel had a prescription for medical marijuana to ease pain without using opioids, but Russia does not recognize medical marijuana and bans all forms of cannabis.
He was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for smuggling marijuana by a Russian court.
“Today, President Donald J. Trump and his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are able to announce that Mr. Witkoff is leaving Russian airspace with Marc Fogel, an American who was detained by Russia,” National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said in a press release shared with UPI.
“President Trump, Steve Witkoff and the president’s advisers negotiated an exchange that serves as a show of good faith from the Russians and a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine,” Waltz said.
“By tonight, Marc Fogel will be on American soil and reunited with his family and loved ones, thanks to President Trump’s leadership.”
Fogel’s family is “absolutely in celebration, major relief mode,” his sister, Anne Fogel, told NPR.
Fogel’s mother, Malphine Fogel, 95, is a Pennsylvania resident and spoke with Trump about Marc’s incarceration in Russia shortly before Trump was shot during his July 13 rally in Butler, Pa.
“He told her then that he would get my brother out,” Anne Fogel said. “I give him credit. He was true to his word.”
The Fogel family thanked Trump for securing Marc’s release in a statement shared with NPR.
“We are beyond grateful, relieved and overwhelmed that after more than three years of detention, our father, husband and son, Marc Fogel, is finally coming home,” the statement read.
Russian officials agreed to release Fogel in what Waltz said is an “exchange” but did not say what Russia received in exchange for Fogel’s release.
State Department officials passed over Fogel during prior prisoner swaps with Russia but last year determined he was being detained unjustly, which made his release more urgent.
Waltz said Fogel’s release is a sign of good faith by Russia and could be tied to a potential peace deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called for an end to the war in Ukraine and during his Senate confirmation hearing said Russia and Ukraine would have to make concessions to end the war that started nearly three years ago.
