Hostage Diplomacy: Marc Fogel

Marc Fogel, a local Pittsburgh teacher, was sentenced in June 2022 to 14 years in a Russian penal colony for 0.6 ounces of medical marijuana prescribed for a decades-long back injury. This year Mr. Fogel was not included in the 24-person prisoner swap — one of the largest since the end of the Cold War — among the U.S., Russia, Germany and three other Western countries. Yet, since Brittney Griner’s 2022 release on a similar charge, US Senators have joined more than 25,000 signatories calling for Marc’s US recognition as “Wrongfully Detained,” to support negotiations for his Russian release back to his Pittsburgh family.
Join us to hear Ambassador Rubin (President of the American Foreign Service Association; Ambassador to Bulgaria: 2016-2019; Deputy Chief of Mission to the Russian Federation: 2008-2011) comment on Marc’s case. The event includes Max Karpman’s short documentary (Did You Forget Mr. Fogel?), an art exhibit by local artist activists and a panel of Pitt experts on hostage diplomacy: who gets released? At what price? If Brittney Griner was “wrongfully detained,” why not Marc Fogel?