Washington, Feb 12 (IANS) Marc Fogel, an American history teacher who had been deemed “wrongfully detained” by Russia, has been released and returned to the US in what the White House has described as a diplomatic breakthrough that could help in improving relations with Moscow and advance negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
Fogel, 61, was escorted out of Russia by Steve Witkoff, a special envoy for US President Donald Trump, and was welcomed at the White House upon arrival.
Standing next to Trump, Fogel expressed overwhelming gratitude. “I feel like the luckiest man on Earth right now,” he said. “Thank you all. I love our country, and I am so happy to be back.”
Fogel, who hails from Pennsylvania, was arrested in August 2021 and sentenced to 14 years in prison for carrying medically prescribed marijuana. His family and supporters had long argued that his detention was unjust.
The Biden administration officially designated him as wrongfully detained in December 2024, but he had been left out of prior US-Russia prisoner exchanges.
Expressing his appreciation, Fogel said he would be “forever indebted” to Trump for securing his release. He also praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him “very generous and statesmanlike in granting a pardon”.
Speaking about the terms of the deal, Trump said, “It was very fair, very, very fair, very reasonable. Not like deals you’ve seen over the years”.
Trump also hinted at the upcoming release of another American, though he did not disclose the person’s identity or the country he or she was being held in. “It will be someone very special,” he said.
Taking to X, Trump shared a post referencing a personal promise he made during a campaign rally. “When I saw (Marc Fogel’s) mother at a rally, she said, ‘If you win, will you get my son out?’ I promised her — she’s 95 years old — and I said, ‘We’ll get him out,’ and we got him out pretty quickly.”
The White House celebrated Fogel’s return with a social media post that read, “Marc Fogel is back! Promises made, promises kept!”
US National Security Advisor (NSA) Mike Waltz also welcomed the news, posting, “He’s home!”
Waltz confirmed that the US and Russia negotiated an exchange for Fogel’s release but did not disclose what the US had offered in return.
“This is a sign that we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine,” he added.
Fogel had spent nearly a decade teaching at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, where children of US diplomats were among his students.
His family had long urged the Biden administration to prioritise his case, but he was excluded from high-profile prisoner exchanges in 2022 and 2024, which secured the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and American corporate security executive Paul Whelan.
Despite the breakthrough in Fogel’s case, several other Americans remain imprisoned in Russia. Among them is US-Russian dual national Ksenia Khavana, who was sentenced to 12 years for treason after making a $52 donation to a Ukrainian aid charity.
Last October, American Robert Gilman was sentenced to over seven years for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers, while American Stephen Hubbard was convicted in a closed trial for allegedly fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine.
–IANS
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