Bob Casey: “I rise this afternoon to highlight the continued imprisonment of Marc Fogel. Marc Fogel is a teacher whose career I will…”

“I rise this afternoon to highlight the continued imprisonment of Marc Fogel. Marc Fogel is a teacher whose career I will describe in a moment, but he is from Oakmont, PA, Allegheny County, in the southwestern corner of our State, just near Pittsburgh. He has been imprisoned by Russia, and I urge my colleagues in the administration to continue to prioritize his release. On August 14, 2021, Marc Fogel was arrested by Russian authorities upon his return to Russia to teach one last year at the Anglo-American School of Moscow, after 35 years of teaching history to the children of American diplomats at international schools across the globe and teaching at the same school in Russia since 2012. Yes, Marc had medically prescribed marijuana in his luggage to help him through the year in dealing with his chronic pain. That pain came from a hip replacement. It came from multiple back surgeries, multiple knee surgeries, and a spinal fusion, which have left Marc with a permanent limp. Marc broke Russian law by bringing marijuana into the country. Marc's worsening medical conditions and actions to bring in less than an ounce of marijuana into Russia should not require him to serve the full 14- year sentence at a Russian penal colony--14 years of imprisonment for less than an ounce of marijuana. It has been 1,026 days since Marc's initial arrest, over 33 months ago.…”