Family’s fight for Marc Fogel’s freedom, return to US succeeds after 4 years in Russia
BUTLER TWP — Butler native Marc Fogel’s family won their fight to free him on Tuesday, Feb. 11, after a three-and-a-half-year struggle.
The family’s journey required faith against constant challenges. His mother, Malphine Fogel, said she and Marc, despite being a world apart, would simultaneously pray the rosary while hoping for a future release.
Along with those locally and nationally advocating for his release, she credits everyone’s prayers for Marc coming home.
Sasha Phillips, the Fogel family’s attorney, has helped the family since the weeks following Fogel’s arrest. She called the case the hardest, most rewarding case she has ever been involved with.
“This, one person’s life, one person’s freedom, justice, fairness, today, all of this comes together,” Phillips said. “I cannot express what I’m feeling.”
Fogel’s family met with more than 30 elected leaders on both sides of the aisle and even filed a lawsuit last June against then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the state department for its failure to designate Fogel as “wrongfully detained.”
They watched as the case garnered local and national attention, elected leaders sent letters urging his release and a famous basketball player with a strikingly similar case was released.
Family members and politicians alike drew a comparison between professional basketball player Brittney Griner and Fogel’s case, asking why the teacher from Butler hadn’t been released alongside Griner on Dec. 8, 2022.
The family kept advocating for Fogel as others came home. Wall Street Journal writer Evan Gershkovich and others were released from Russian detainment in August 2024.
Fogel had not been included in prisoner swaps between Washington and Moscow up to this point. He wasn’t even designated as “wrongfully detained” until October, news that the family shared in late December.
The designation followed the lawsuit filed against Blinken and the state department for its failure to make the designation. The family has since voluntarily dismissed the suit.
The designation, made officially by Blinken under the Levinson Act, was meant to free up additional resources to secure Fogel’s release. A spokesperson from the State Department said shortly after Christmas that efforts to secure Fogel’s release had been ongoing for months.
Fogel’s family made many efforts to meet with U.S. senators and representatives to discuss his release. Anne Fogel previously said their nephew, Ethan, was able to previously meet with Marco Rubio.
Sen. Dave McCormick, a recently elected Republican, pressed the new secretary of state, Marco Rubio, about prioritizing Fogel’s release. Rubio replied that it would be hard to improve relations with Russia without the release of Fogel.
“This is a ridiculous case,” Rubio said at the hearing. “I mean … clearly there was an order given at some level that if you see an American, and you have anything you can charge them with, let’s charge them, and let’s collect these, because we can trade them in the future for something.
Locally, efforts to bring awareness to Fogel’s case have included the creation of the YouTube documentary “Did You Forget Mr. Fogel?” as well as the Butler Art Center & Gallery’s plans to unveil a portrait of Fogel on Feb. 15.
While no plans are set in stone for when Marc comes home, his wife and two adult sons were planning on traveling to Washington on Tuesday evening to reunite with him.
The family understands that when Marc returns, there will be a degree of rehabilitation to help him readjust.
“One thing I want to make very clear, this is not the end of the road. Marc will have to go through a rehabilitation process. So we’re going to continue to call for everyone of you to continue the prayers,” Phillips said. “We need them, we need to hold Marc up, we need to tell him he is loved and he will get through this with his loving family.”
Regardless, Malphine said in addition to making sure Marc is well fed, there will be lots of hugs and tears of joy when the family is together again in Butler.
