Sen. Daines And Former Russia Diplomat Urge Blinken To Designate Marc Fogel as 'Wrongfully Detained' In R
Benzinga U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul published an open letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the Biden Administration to immediately designate Mr. Marc Fogel as wrongfully detained and prioritize securing his release.
Fogel, who previously worked at theU.S. Embassy in Moscowwas employed as an English teacher at theAnglo-American School alsoin Moscow. At the time of his arrest,Fogel had a doctor's recommendation formedical marijuana from a physician inPennsylvania to treat chronic back pain.
Fogel, who is in his 60s,argued that he was not aware that medicalmarijuanawas illegal in Russia.
Despite this, Fogelwas sentencedon June16, 2022, to unconscionable, 14 years of hard labor.
We write to urge you to immediately designate Mr. Marc Fogel as wrongfully detained and prioritize securing his release. The top responsibility of any administration needs to be the safety and security of the American people and we cannot allow innocent Americans to be used as pawns for Putins ambitions, the letter says.
