‘Just please bring me home’

Marc Fogel is a history teacher who dedicated the last 35 years of his life to teaching young people. He is a father, a brother, and a son. But now he’s spent nearly two years behind bars in a Russian prison because of an honest mistake. 

Over the past year, I’ve had the privilege of getting to know some members of Marc’s family. Ask anyone who knows him—his family, his friends, and his students—and they’ll tell you about his infectious, upbeat energy. They’ll tell you about the countless lives he changed in his 35 years of teaching. And they’ll tell you about how he went to live and teach in places that few others would – from Venezuela, to Colombia, and to Russia.

When he returned to Moscow for his tenth and final year of teaching at the Anglo-American School of Moscow in August 2021, he was detained at the airport for the possession of less than 20 grams of medically prescribed marijuana and sentenced to fourteen years in prison. This was marijuana that was legally prescribed by a doctor to treat chronic pain.

Marc is a good man who made a mistake and now faces an inhumane sentence in a notorious Russian prison. It sets a deeply dangerous precedent.  It’s unacceptable. Marc’s health and well-being are at serious risk. 

I was proud to join my colleague, Senator Bob Casey, on the recently passed resolution calling on the Biden administration to secure Marc’s release – and the release of other wrongfully detained U.S. citizens and permanent residents. President Biden has demonstrated a commitment to bringing home wrongly detained Americans. He brought home Brittney Griner and Marine veteran Trevor Reed. Marc deserves to come home, too. Marc and his family deserve to see each other again. Let’s bring him back home to Pennsylvania.

When I sat down with Malphine Fogel in my office a year ago, I made it clear that Congress will never stop fighting for her son’s release. Over 1,000 days have passed since Marc Fogel’s detainment in Russia, and it has been understandably difficult for her family and the Pittsburgh community. I’ve been working in Congress to get answers regarding his status and what options are available to secure his release.

As my colleagues and I have worked on Marc’s case, I’ve come to the realization that the process must start at the top — with President Biden. His justified public efforts in December 2022 to bring home Brittney Griner, who faced an almost identical sentence in Russia, and laid the playbook for Marc’s advocates to follow.

But the president has refused to mention Marc’s name or even acknowledge his existence. This is tremendously frustrating, as Biden’s Department of State has mimicked the president’s lack of urgency and stonewalled Congress’ efforts for a wrongful detainment status.

This inaction has caused many questions and theories to surface as to why the White House committed so many resources to bring home Griner, a celebrity basketball player who also serves as an outspoken LGBT liberal activist, but has barely moved an inch for Fogel, a Pittsburgh teacher without the notoriety or political fame.

I’ll let the readers make their own assumptions as to why this is the case.

Partisanship and politics haven’t played a role in the Pennsylvania congressional delegation’s efforts to bring Marc home. I’ve partnered with everyone from Democratic Sen. John Fetterman to former Democratic Congressman Mike Doyle to pressure Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Department of State to classify him as wrongfully detained and include him in any future prisoner swaps with Russia. The State Department hasn’t budged.

So, what can we do to bring Marc home?

First, we can’t lose faith. The past three years haven’t been easy, but Congress’ efforts must continue to be centered around getting the Biden administration to treat Marc the same as others who are wrongfully detained across the world.

Second, our bipartisan efforts must continue. The simple truth of the matter is that this president governs on the whims of political pressure, electoral weakness and instant gratification. If enough Democrats and activists sound the alarm, so will Biden.

And third, our message must be backed up with concrete action. Media amplification is a good step, but passing critical legislation forcing the State Department and the White House to act is also necessary. I accomplished this earlier in the year through Congress’ appropriations process. The package includes a provision requiring the State Department to send a report to Congress explaining Marc’s lack of a wrongfully detained status, and was signed into law on March 23, 2024.

With these steps, Malphine Fogel and the Pittsburgh community will get the answers they so desperately need. And with Biden simply uttering his name, Marc may be home with his family once again.

For the last three years, members of Congress representing Western Pennsylvania have advocated for Marc Fogel. Today, we continue to call for Marc’s freedom.

As Marc’s voice in Congress, we have worked numerous legislative and diplomatic paths to pursue his safe and quick return home. Throughout the process, we have come to know Marc’s story — a father and teacher who possesses a love of both country and teaching young Americans.

But one of the most untold stories about Marc’s case is the toll it has taken on his family here in the Pittsburgh area. Recently, I have come to know well Marc’s mother, Malphine Fogel. She is a constituent of mine in Butler County. At 95 years old, Malphine is praying for one more opportunity to see her son. As the Trib reported last month, the mother and son occasionally speak by phone. But the calls are not scheduled. Sometimes weeks go by before they speak again.

Malphine is a strong woman. She continues to impress me, my staff and other members of the congressional delegation with her passion and drive for her cause. She remains dedicated every day to freeing her son, praying for one day when he returns to the Pittsburgh area. As a father of four and grandfather of 10, I deeply empathize with Malphine and the hardships and trials she faces every day.

As we near the third anniversary of Marc’s imprisonment, we ask the Biden administration and State Department to consider the personal toll this has taken on the Fogel family. The lack of acknowledgment and designation of Marc by the department have not only impacted him, but also his mother, wife, two sons and his entire family.

Marc deserves to be home in Pennsylvania with his mother and family. They have gone more than 1,000 days without him.

Here in Western Pennsylvania, we know the meaning of service. We helped build this country, and we fought our country’s wars — all of them. We have a long, proud history of people stepping up to serve the common good in so many ways and forms.

Marc Fogel is one such public servant. A 62-year-old Oakmont native, for years he taught the children of American diplomats living abroad, teaching history to young people in Colombia, Venezuela, Oman, Malaysia and, for almost 10 years, Russia.

Through the pain of a severe back injury that he has lived with since he was in his 30s, Marc showed up to teach day after day. He showed remarkable perseverance that is now being pushed to its limits.

For close to three years, Marc has been detained in Russia for possessing a small amount of doctor-prescribed, medical marijuana to treat his chronic back pain. He is currently serving a 14-year sentence in a Russian penal colony, many of which are known for their harsh conditions. While Marc cannot speak freely about his treatment in detention, those of us who can are extremely concerned for his well-being. Frankly, for someone with his medical conditions, 14 years in a Russian prison could be a death sentence.

Marc needs to come home. For his health, he should be released from detention in Russia on humanitarian grounds and allowed to return to Western Pennsylvania. In Congress, I’m working alongside our senators and our region’s House members to help bring Marc home.

Together, my House colleagues and I introduced the Marc Fogel Act to require increased transparency from the Department of State abouy their process for determining detainment status. Marc’s representatives in Congress are speaking in one voice: We hear him, we hear his family’s pain and we are fighting hard to get him home.

Last July, I joined with other members of the Pennsylvania delegation on a resolution calling on Russia to recognize that Marc has spent more time in prison than he should. The resolution urges the country to acknowledge Marc’s human rights and worrisome medical condition, and to provide full consular access to him while he remains there.

For decades, Marc served others as a teacher around the world. Now, all of us have to stand up for him. Republican and Democrat: We are united with the message that an educator with a drive for service and chronic health issues should not be in a heavy-security Russian prison into his mid-seventies.

The only way we can keep Marc safe and make sure he gets the medical care he needs is to get him back onto American soil.

His nearly three-year absence has been devastating for his family. As his 63rd birthday approaches in July, and with 11 years left on his sentence, Marc’s 95-year-old mother Malphine wonders if she will ever see him again. We have to do all we can to keep Marc safe and to reunite this Western Pennsylvania family — before it’s too late. It’s time to bring Marc Fogel home.

On Aug. 12, 2021, Marc Fogel left his friends and family in Western Pennsylvania to return to Moscow for his final year of teaching before retirement. Marc spent much of his adult life teaching history at schools attended by children of U.S. diplomats. He had previously taught at schools in Colombia, Venezuela, Oman, Malaysia and Russia.

When Marc arrived at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow, Russian authorities arrested him for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. Marc was medically prescribed marijuana in Pennsylvania as an alternative for opioids to help manage pain in his back, hip and knees. Russian authorities charged and convicted him with “large-scale drug smuggling.” In June 2022, he was sentenced to 14 years in a maximum-security penal colony.

Unfortunately, this case may sound similar to others. Over the past three years, Russian authorities have increasingly targeted American citizens for prosecution, due to the geopolitical landscape. However, unlike the many other Americans who have had similar experiences, the State Department has yet to classify Marc as “wrongfully detained.”

When the State Department classifies an American as “wrongfully detained,” it indicates that the U.S. government believes he or she is they are equivalent to a political hostage and that the foreign government is trying to influence U.S. policy or gain concessions from our federal government. Once a U.S. citizen is considered “wrongfully detained,” the State Department’s Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs takes the lead on negotiations to bring that American home.

Based on federal law, Marc’s case meets at least six of the 11 established criteria to be designated as wrongfully detained. The status of his detainment has not changed since his arrest almost three years ago, despite ongoing efforts by a group of bipartisan lawmakers in the U.S. House and Senate.

We have sought to correct the State Department’s classification of Marc’s detainment and to advance actions that would result in him being granted his freedom. We have also introduced a resolution to show robust, bipartisan support for Marc. We have continued to advocate both publicly and privately for assistance and remain hopeful that his unimaginable situation will be resolved quickly.

As the Russian government continues its hostilities toward Americans, we must gain complete access to the full report regarding Marc’s detainment, trial and sentencing. I remain committed to working with the Biden administration and my colleagues in the House and Senate to ensure his safe return to the United States.

Lori Falce is a Tribune-Review editorial writer. You can contact Lori at lfalce@triblive.com

Massoud Hossaini is a Tribune-Review photographer. You can contact Massoud via email at mhossaini@triblive.com.