Family of American teacher jailed in Russia say he was 'shattered' to miss out on prisoner swap

By Lucy Papachristou

LONDON (Reuters) - There is little about Marc Fogel's past that could have predicted he would one day end up in a Russian prison.

An American history teacher who made a career working at international schools across multiple continents, the 63-year-old had been a "happy-go-lucky" person since boyhood, the kind of educator whom students remember fondly their whole lives, said his mother, Malphine Fogel.

In 2012, Fogel, his wife Jane and their two sons moved to Moscow, where Fogel took up a position teaching history at the now-shuttered Anglo-American school. Some of his proudest achievements there were scored on the softball field, where Fogel coached the girls' team to multiple championships.

That all came to an end in August 2021, when customs officials at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport found about half an ounce of medical marijuana in Fogel's luggage. Doctors in the United States had prescribed the drugs to treat chronic pain.

Ten months later, the Pennsylvania native was sentenced to 14 years in prison for drug trafficking.

Fogel is now serving one of the longest sentences of Americans held in Russia following a major prisoner swap between Moscow and Western countries earlier this month. That exchange freed, among others, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. marine Paul Whelan, who were both given 16 years in separate cases. About half a dozen other Americans remain behind bars in Russia.

In interviews, his mother and sister Anne said they were outraged when they heard Fogel was left out of the swap.

"It just seems like an unbelievable occurrence to think that they released all those prisoners and they didn't include Marc," his mother said by phone from her home outside Pittsburgh.

No one, though, was more crushed than Fogel himself.

"It just took the heart right out of him when he heard," his mother said. "He's just shattered."

'JUST A TEACHER'

Since his arrest, Fogel's family and lawyers have been petitioning the U.S. government to designate him as "wrongfully detained", which would open up more diplomatic channels to negotiate his release and grant him access to better medical care in prison. Washington had given both Gershkovich and Whelan the label.

Fogel's sister Anne said the family feels powerless to exert more pressure on the Biden administration without the lobbying clout of a large organisation like the Wall Street Journal.

"He's not a mega athlete, you know," she said, referring to U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, who was released from a Russian prison in December 2022 after receiving a conviction for a similar drug charge. "He's just a teacher."

Several Congressional leaders for Pennsylvania, including both U.S. senators, have advocated for Fogel's release, including releasing a statement to insist he be included in the August exchange.

But the family's lawyer, Sasha Phillips, said President Joe Biden's administration has done too little for the Fogels.

"Marc's family has been kept in the dark the entire time, with no direct contact from the Biden administration and only vague, confusing messages from the State Department," Phillips said by phone.

She said that Biden did not speak publicly of Fogel until Aug. 2, the day after the swap, when he said Washington was "not giving up" on securing the teacher's release.

A State Department spokesperson said Washington had repeatedly called for Fogel's release and would continue to advocate for him, declining further comment.

For Fogel, obtaining the "wrongfully detained" designation is key to any future swap, Phillips said.

"Marc's family would be kept informed and provided with significant resources for advocating on his behalf," she said. "He would have the entire U.S. government advocating for his release."

For now, Marc's spirits are buoyed by phone calls home and regular letters sent from dozens of his former students to the prison in Rybinsk, some 200 miles (320 km) north of Moscow.

"What's keeping him really lit up is that he knows that a lot of people are coming to his aid," his sister said.

(Reporting and writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Ros Russell)