WASHINGTON — The White House announced Tuesday the release of Marc Fogel, an American teacher wrongly detained in Russia.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff departed Russian airspace with Fogel, a Pennsylvania history teacher, who is expected to reunite with his family later today.
Fogel, arrested in August 2021, had been serving a 14-year prison sentence. His family and supporters stated he possessed medically prescribed marijuana, leading to his designation as wrongfully detained by President Biden’s administration in December.
Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security advisor, confirmed a negotiated exchange secured Fogel’s release, declining to detail U.S. concessions. Prior negotiations have sometimes involved reciprocal releases of Russian citizens by the U.S. or its allies.
Waltz framed Fogel’s release as “a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine.” Trump, a Republican, has pledged to find a path to ending the conflict.
Fogel’s family expressed immense gratitude and relief at his return, stating this period marked “the darkest and most painful period of our lives,” adding, “For the first time in years, our family can look forward to the future with hope.”
Moscow has yet to comment on Fogel’s release.
Other Americans remain detained in Russia, despite a large prisoner exchange last August that freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
Among them is U.S.-Russian dual national Ksenia Khavana, convicted in August of treason and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for a roughly $52 donation to a Ukrainian charity. The Biden administration deemed this conviction “nothing less than vindictive cruelty.”