Family still pleading for help on 3-year mark since Oakmont teacher detained in Russia

PITTSBURGH — Wednesday marks three years since Butler native and Oakmont teacher Marc Fogel was detained in a Russian airport.

“He’s a very good person, he’s a very compassionate person, and we really, really miss him,” said Fogel’s sister, Anne Fogel.

Marc Fogel was sentenced to 14 years in a Russian penal colony for having a small amount of medical marijuana prescribed by a doctor for chronic back issues.

“He has a 24-hour-a-day job of managing pain. That is what he does and he’s constantly stretching. He rarely sits down. He’s usually pacing or laying on the floor stretching. I can’t imagine how he’s managing it now and that is very worrisome,” Anne Fogel said.

Marc’s sisters, wife, sons, and 95-year-old mother are worried about his physical and mental health.

They’re also disheartened he was not included in a prisoner swap on Aug. 1 that brought home Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan.

“When you see that a historic prisoner swap is going to be made and you’re one the few Americans and then you’re not included … it’s a travesty that they left him,” Anne Fogel said.

Since that day, the Fogels have been intensifying pressure on the White House and the State Department, while working with Pennsylvania lawmakers to get Marc classified as wrongfully detained.

“We’re hanging by our fingernails here, hoping for a change. A change in his status wouldn’t get him home, but it would certainly demonstrate that he has been prioritized. We need that. We need that right now,” said Anne Fogel.

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