Marc Fogel’s wife, teacher Jane Fogel, asks for help after being arrested in Russia
A 61-year-old man named Marc Fogel was arrested in Russia for possession of marijuana, when he had only 17 grams on him. Russia’s high-security penal colony sentenced Fogel, a teacher by profession, to 14 years in prison.
Fogel is elderly and already struggling with a number of health issues, which is why his family in America are begging the US government for help. The family has started a Change.org petition and is working to collect as many signatures as possible.
A letter-writing campaign was also launched by Fogel’s family. Many of Marc’s former employers and classmates begged him to return home in letters to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Marc Fogel wife
Jane Fogel, the wife of an arrested teacher in Russia, appeals for help
The family of Marc Fogel, an Oakmont man who is serving a long prison sentence in Russia, is asking the American authorities to release their loved one.
According to Fogel’s family, the US government should do everything possible to help. Sarah Jane Grubbs, a niece of Mark Fogel, and Jane Fogel, his wife, are members of the family. Jane makes a request to the authorities of the country in favor of the return of her husband to the family.
Grubbs’ only request is that his uncle visit Oakmont. Due to his age and poor health, Mark and Jane’s other niece, Ellen Keelan, believes he will not be able to survive. The family have not heard from or seen him for 348 days, according to Grubbs and Keelan.
Although Marc Fogel’s Russian lawyer has filed an appeal and will present it to the court shortly, criminal defense lawyer Sasha Philips said he had no reason to believe it would reduce his sentence because he viewed her as politically motivated.
The family claimed that they periodically communicate through censored and translated letters that often lacked context.
What are Marc Fogel’s charges? Will he leave?
On August 14, 2021, Fogel and his wife Jane embarked on a return trip after their tenth and final year of teaching in Russia, but Marc Fogel was detained at Moscow airport.
Fogel was carrying 17 grams of cannabis, according to his family, to relieve his persistent back pain. Last month, he was convicted there of possession and trafficking of cocaine. In a high-security penal colony in Russia, he was sentenced to 14 years.
We want to do everything in our power to spread the word and plead with our government to take the appropriate legal action to bring him back to us, Grubbs continued.
Marc Fogel: Age, Wikipedia
61 years old is Mark Fogel. Butler is where Marc grew up. He has a strong commitment to working with children all over the world and loves to travel.
This would start to include him in negotiations, trades and other issues, Keelan claimed in his statement. He should be saved because his life is just as precious as everyone else’s.
The family is pleading with the Biden administration, according to Keelan, to declare Fogel wrongfully detained, which would trigger formal diplomatic efforts to secure his release.
This even exceeds the sentences given by Russian courts to major drug traffickers and murderers, she claimed. “This sentence is grossly disproportionate to sentences handed down by Russian courts in similar cases involving similar amounts of marijuana.”
