Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
PITTSBURGH, PA – Marc Fogel, a Pittsburgh-area teacher detained in Russia since 2021, has
been released and is returning to the United States, according to the White House.
Officials announced Tuesday afternoon that Fogel was “leaving Russian airspace” aboard a plane
with Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East.
“By tonight, Marc Fogel will be on American soil and reunited with his family and loved ones
thanks to President Trump’s leadership,” National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said.
Fogel, 63, was arrested in August 2021 at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow while returning for
his 10th and final year as a history teacher at the Anglo-American School of Moscow. He was
sentenced in June 2022 to 14 years of hard labor on drug charges.
Waltz described Fogel’s release as an exchange but did not confirm whether the U.S. released
anyone in return or provide details on the negotiations. He called the release “a show of good
faith from the Russians” and a sign of progress toward ending the war in Ukraine.
Fogel’s mother, 95-year-old Malphine Fogel, has spent years campaigning for her son’s release,
arguing that his case was treated unfairly compared to other detained Americans, such as WNBA
star Brittney Griner. Pennsylvania lawmakers, including a group who petitioned U.S. Secretary
of State Marco Rubio last month, have pushed for action to bring him home.
Ms. Fogel previously sued the State Department, accusing then-Secretary of State Antony
Blinken of treating her son’s case differently than Griner’s. She dropped the lawsuit in October
after her son was officially designated “wrongfully detained” by the U.S. government.
Waltz described Fogel’s release as an exchange but did not confirm whether the U.S. released
anyone in return or provide details on the negotiations. He called the release “a show of good
faith from the Russians” and a sign of progress toward ending the war in Ukraine.
Fogel’s mother, 95-year-old Malphine Fogel, has spent years campaigning for her son’s release,
arguing that his case was treated unfairly compared to other detained Americans, such as WNBA
star Brittney Griner. Pennsylvania lawmakers, including a group who petitioned U.S. Secretary
of State Marco Rubio last month, have pushed for action to bring him home.
Ms. Fogel previously sued the State Department, accusing then-Secretary of State Antony
Blinken of treating her son’s case differently than Griner’s. She dropped the lawsuit in October
after her son was officially designated “wrongfully detained” by the U.S. government.