It is a priority for Secretary of State nominee, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, to bring Marc Fogel home from Russia.
With the Butler native classified as wrongfully detained, Rubio vowed Wednesday to prioritize bringing him home.
Fogel, an Oakmont teacher, was arrested for bringing a small amount of medical marijuana into Russia.
During his confirmation hearing, Rubio was asked about Fogel by Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick and if he would commit to bringing him home.
“Absolutely, and in fact, I’ve been involved already,” said Rubio. “I’ve met with those families as well. We’ve had conversations about this.”
Rubio said Fogel's arrest is part of a scheme to lock up Americans who will be traded in prisoner exchanges:
There’s a global market for this now, and it’s one of the challenges of the 21st century,” said Rubio. “There is now an active global market for detaining Americans wrongfully, in Venezuela, in Russia.”
Fogel’s over 95-year-old mother Malphine told KDKA Radio’s Michael Bartley last year that it’s hard not to get emotional when she gets a chance to talk to her son on the phone.
“It’s so hard to talk because you are so emotion and he is too,” said Malphine. “I’m sure he expected to be in this latest transaction and I’m sure that, by now, he’s just beaten down.”
The 63-year-old is in a penal colony after being arrested in August 2021 for possession of 17 grams of medical marijuana.
Fogel has been imprisoned in poor health for three years and seven months.