On Tuesday, rumors circulated among Marc Fogel’s family members via Russian media outlets about an ongoing prisoner exchange with the United States.
They pressed their congressional delegation all day Wednesday to see whether the 62-year-old Oakmont teacher—who had been detained in Russia for almost three years—would be included.
Sasha Phillips, a lawyer for the family, stated on Friday, “We got no answers.” “From the State Department, nothing. Not a word from the White House.
“There was total quiet.”
Fogel would be included, according to a national media outlet.
The family’s hopes were greatly raised by the news.
However, they later heard differently.
Speaking about the emotional roller coaster, Phillips remarked, “We’re going from excitement and hope to complete despair.”
They received a call on Thursday morning from Russian sources informing them that two planes carrying the convicts had left the country.
They were still unsure about Fogel’s involvement.
Then, Lisa Hyland, Fogel’s sister in O’Hara, received a call in the middle of the morning from a Russian number.
Fogel was the one. He remained in Rybinsk.
in a prison.
Fogel reportedly told his sister, “My soul is dead if I’m left behind,” according to Phillips.
Phillips said Hyland told her, “He doubts whether he’ll make it to the next opportunity.”
The intricate deal that released Wall Street Journal writer Evan Gershkovich, former Marine Paul Whelan, journalist Alsu Kurmasheva of Radio Free Europe, and former Marine Paul Whelan did not include Fogel.
In contrast to Fogel, Gershkovich, Whelan, and basketball player Brittney Griner—who was released from a Russian prison in 2022 after serving ten months—had the advantage of having been unlawfully held by the US authorities.
Fogel’s followers harshly criticized the Biden administration on Friday.
Phillips remarked, “To do this to the family is very wrong and very cruel.” “Regardless of the result, the government ought to have done a better job of informing the family.”
speaking his name
No one in the Biden administration mentioned Marc Fogel’s name in public for three years.
Yet in the past 48 hours, among the unprecedented prisoner swap involving 24 individuals from 6 nations, they have at least 3 times discussed Fogel’s predicament as an American detained in a Russian jail.
“Marc’s inclusion was something we really wanted, but it wasn’t going to happen,” a senior administration official stated during a Thursday morning press conference. That means that we need to keep stepping up our efforts, which we are doing.
“And we’re going to build on it, drawing inspiration and continued courage from it for all of those who are held hostage or wrongfully detained around the world, and that includes Marc Fogel — who we are actively working to get his release from Russia as well,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan then stated during a press briefing on the prisoner swap on Thursday.
Additionally, President Joe Biden informed reporters that his administration was attempting to secure Fogel’s release on Friday as he was leaving the White House.
Biden declared, “We’re not giving up on that.”
Fogel’s supporters believe that while these are the correct words, action is still required.
Words are amazing and give hope, but they can only do so much, according to Phillips.
Six requirements were satisfied.
When Russian officials discovered that 62-year-old Fogel had 17 grams of medicinal marijuana on him, he was placed under custody on August 14, 2021. Fogel was scheduled to begin his tenth year of teaching at the Anglo-American School in Moscow.
Following a trial, Fogel was found guilty and given a 14-year prison sentence in a high security facility in Russia.
Supporters of Fogel contend that the U.S. State Department ought to have declared him to be illegally detained as soon as possible after his detention. The secretary of state has the last say in the matter.
There are eleven criteria to determine the designation under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act of 2020.
Among them are:
The United States government possesses reliable data suggesting the person’s innocence.
Due to their American citizenship, the individual is being held in significant detention.
The purpose of the incarceration is to affect American policy.
Because the individual aimed to further press or religious freedom, they were detained.
The confinement serves as a cover for an unlawful intent.
The individual is being held arbitrarily and in cruel circumstances.
Fogel’s supporters claim he satisfies six of the eleven requirements.
Nevertheless, no one has ever explained to them why he hasn’t been given the designation. Rather, Fogel’s release has been advocated for by the State Department on humanitarian grounds.
According to Phillips, the designation is necessary in order to give government support to the relatives of American captives detained abroad. Fogel’s family is not eligible for such assistance without that status.
According to Phillips, having the entire support and weight of the U.S. government, along with knowledge of a prisoner’s situation, is one of the biggest advantages for families.
According to Phillips, “regular updates and briefings on the status of the detained individual and the efforts being made for their release are provided to the families of wrongfully detained individuals.”
Additionally, the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs appoints them a liaison.
According to Phillips, Fogel’s family was unaware this week of whether he was part of the prisoner swap until he was mentioned as having been unfairly jailed.
In the event that Fogel was found to have been unfairly jailed, he and his family would have more access to financial assistance, medical care, and mental health services.
The family has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past three years trying to get him back, Phillips said. This includes covering his trial’s legal costs in Russia, travel costs to meet with Congressmen, and other associated expenses.
Phillips stated, “A lot of that would have been avoided if Marc had been declared wrongfully detained.”
She feels that Fogel would have been released on Thursday along with the other inmates if he had been assigned that title.
“Sorrow beyond comprehension”
Robert Levinson, the father of David Levinson, was abducted in Iran in 2007 while working as a CIA contractor and a former FBI agent. He is recognized as the longest-held American hostage when he passed away in Iranian detention in 2020.
On Friday, Levinson stated that families require openness.
David Levinson stated that there was no coordinated, cooperative strategy for releasing captives prior to the enactment of the law bearing his father’s name.
“It’s an unbearable suffering from a family-to-family perspective, and they should be doing everything possible to bring Marc home,” Levinson stated. “My thoughts are with them. Nobody ought to endure darkness-related suffering.
But Levinson noted that there may be some hope after hearing what the administration has been saying about Fogel over the past two days.
“I think it would be inspiring to hear the president discuss my dad’s case. The knowledge that he was on their minds brings comfort and optimism. I was aware that they were pursuing his case.
Supporters of Fogel contend that they require more than that.
“While it’s a very small step and long overdue, this is definitely a step in the right direction,” Phillips remarked. “Marc must return home.”
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