OAKMONT, Pa. — A local man sitting in a Russian prison has been designated as “wrongfully detained” by the U.S. government.
IUP President Dr. Michael Driscoll announced on Friday that the U.S. State Department had made the change.
Fogel was arrested in Russia three years ago for having medical marijuana.
His family will now receive additional support.
According to the U.S. Department of State, officials are able to make this classification if the criteria set in the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-taking Accountability Act are met.
Government officials work on monitoring intelligence, setting up meetings domestically and overseas and building diplomatic coalitions for people they consider wrongfully detained.
Fogel’s family has been pushing for his release with local and federal lawmakers. They also sued the federal government in an attempt to bring him home.
RELATED COVERAGE >>> Family of Oakmont teacher detained in Russia suing federal government
“The additional support the status enables are critical to Marc and his family. I hope that the State Department will now focus on getting Marc back home where he belongs,” IUP President Dr. Michael Driscoll said.
Fogel was sentenced to serve 14 years in a penal colony.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
©2024 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
