The wish list for Marc Fogel this holiday season is short.
Family and friends have a campaign to send him cards. They will go to the Russian prison where he has been sentenced for the 0.6 ounces of medical marijuana he had in his possession when arrested in August 2021.
Fogel knows what a holiday in Russia looks like after his time teaching at the Anglo-American School in Moscow. He knows what a prison holiday looks like, too. This will be his third.
He could tell Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter arrested in Yekaterinburg on espionage charges in March, what to expect. He could ask Paul Whelan, arrested in Moscow days after Christmas 2018, if things are better or worse after five years.
Fogel, a teacher from Oakmont, has a 14-year sentence stretching in front of him. Whelan is well into his 16-year sentence. Gershkovich is still awaiting trial.
All three are no doubt well aware that WNBA star Brittney Griner was freed from her Russian cell a year ago this week, when she was exchanged for arms dealer Viktor Bout. Could that happen again?
Not likely. While few details were offered, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller confirmed Tuesday that a “significant” deal was on the table and it was rejected by Russia.
“… It was to bring both of them home. We have made clear all along, we want — that we do not want to leave either one of them behind. We want to bring both Evan and Paul home,” Miller said.
When asked about Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, Miller stressed that the deal was only for Gershkovich and Whelan, both of whom are designated wrongfully detained by the U.S., and no other detainees are included.
Fogel is not designated wrongfully detained. It may be due to the marijuana, which is legal in Pennsylvania but still a stumbling block in federal law and a real problem in many foreign countries. We do not know, however, because after a year of asking questions of the State Department, that is an answer it will not give.
“When making these assessments, the Department conducts a fact-based review that looks at the totality of the circumstances for each case individually,” a State spokesperson said in an email.
Instead, they call on Russia to release Fogel, who suffers from back pain that prompted the medical marijuana, on humanitarian grounds.
That is not enough. A serious commitment to bring home these Americans should not just refer to the two accused of espionage.
Fogel, Gershkovich and Whelan all merit serious discussion about their return, not only in negotiations but in front of the American people. Fogel should not be treated differently when the U.S. established with Griner that medical marijuana is no barrier to a prisoner swap.
The best gift for him and his family would be a flight home. Failing that, he should be designated wrongfully detained and spoken of in the same conversations as Gershkovich and Whelan.
