US teacher jailed in Russia is formally designated as wrongfully detained An American schoolteacher arrested in Russia on drug charges more than four years ago has been designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained, the State Department said Friday.
After Fogel was omitted from a massive prisoner swap last August that resulted in the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and corporate security executive Paul Whelan, among others, his family's lawyers made another push for the Biden administration to secure his freedom, including by designating him as wrongfully detained.
The State Department considers a range of factors in deciding whether to designate an American jailed in a foreign country as wrongfully detained, including if there's credible information that the person is innocent.
Marc Fogel, a history teacher from Pennsylvania, is serving a 14-year prison sentence after being arrested in August 2021 at a Russian airport and possessing what his family and supporters said was medically prescribed marijuana.
The Secretary determined Marc is wrongfully detained in October," the department said in a statement.
