Marc Fogel had traveled readily to and from Russia many instances earlier than his fateful final return to the nation in August 2021. He had taught historical past for nearly a decade, largely to the youngsters of diplomats, on the Anglo-American Faculty in Moscow.
However on getting into Russia forward of what he had determined could be his remaining 12 months instructing on the faculty, Mr. Fogel was arrested and accused of smuggling medicine — lower than an oz. of hashish that he used to deal with continual again ache. In June 2022, he was sentenced to 14 years in a high-security jail; in Russia, lesser sentences have typically been given to convicted murderers.
After lobbying by the U.S. authorities, Mr. Fogel, now 63, was let out on Tuesday after thee-and-a-half years in custody.
He and his spouse, Jane, had been international adventurers nearing retirement, having lived in Colombia, Malaysia, Oman, Venezuela and Russia. However like different People imprisoned in Russia, just like the basketball star Brittney Griner and the journalist Evan Gershkovich, he grew to become a pawn within the energy struggles between Moscow and Washington surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022
Till a 12 months earlier than his arrest, Mr. Fogel, like all of the academics on the Anglo-American Faculty, had diplomatic immunity. However as tensions rose with america, Russia stripped the academics of that safety. In 2022, Russia pressured the college to shut and confiscated its property.
Eric Rubin, a former American diplomat in Moscow who is aware of Mr. Fogel and labored on getting him launched, mentioned his was “primarily a hostage-taking state of affairs.” He mentioned he suspected that the Russian authorities knew Mr. Fogel could be carrying hashish vape canisters when he landed at Sheremetyevo Airport close to Moscow along with his spouse, Jane.
“This was undoubtedly a setup,” Mr. Rubin mentioned, and the sentence was “outrageously inconsistent” with the penalties meted out for related offenses by Russian residents, who typically get probation slightly than jail time.
Mr. Fogel had a health care provider’s prescription for medical marijuana and, in accordance with a web site maintained by his household, “he deliberate on declaring his medical marijuana at Russian customs.” The location says, “Marc suffered from bodily illnesses together with extreme again and related knee, hip, and shoulder issues,” and even shows X-rays displaying pins and screws in his decrease backbone.
None of that mattered to the authorities in Russia, the place medical use of marijuana is just not acknowledged — though, the household’s web site says, “Russia had beforehand let foreigners herald marijuana with a doctor’s prescription.”
Mr. Fogel was tried by the identical court docket as Ms. Griner, who was convicted of an analogous crime and sentenced to 9 years in a penal colony. She was exchanged in December 2022, after nearly 10 months in custody, for Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms vendor.
After his conviction, Mr. Fogel was despatched to a distant labor camp north of Moscow, a location that made it troublesome for diplomats to go to, the place his household mentioned he acquired substandard medical care and his “deterioration has been dramatic.” Final 12 months, they spoke out about his “extreme well being points,” their concern that his 95-year-old mom would by no means see him once more, and the urgency to “save him from probably dying in a Russian jail.”
The household grew offended with the Biden administration for not paying as a lot consideration to the plight of Mr. Fogel because it needed to these of Ms. Griner, Mr. Gershkovich, the Wall Road Journal reporter who was launched final August in a prisoner swap, or Paul Whelan, an American who was held in Russia from 2018 till he was launched with Mr. Gershkovich. In impact, they mentioned, his personal authorities had deserted him.
On the web site that requires his launch, Mr. Fogel’s supporters mentioned that earlier than getting elected, President Trump had promised his mom that he was “dedicated to bringing” Mr. Fogel residence. On the finish of December, the State Division mentioned that the American authorities had declared Mr. Fogel as wrongfully detained — a transfer his household mentioned was three years overdue.
“Now that we have now the total pressure of the U.S. authorities behind us, we should do the whole lot in our energy to convey Marc residence as rapidly and safely as potential,” the household mentioned in a press release following the announcement.
Talking throughout his Senate affirmation listening to in January, Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned that it could be unimaginable to enhance relations between Washington and Moscow until Mr. Fogel was launched.
“If they don’t seem to be prepared to do that,” Mr. Rubio mentioned, “then I believe possibilities of enchancment of Russia-U.S. relations are unimaginable.”