American teacher Marc Fogel released from Russian detention

Marc Fogel, an American schoolteacher detained in Russia since 2021, has been released and returned to the United States following negotiations conducted by a White House special envoy.

The White House announced on Tuesday that Fogel’s release was secured through negotiations led by President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Fogel landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Tuesday evening and later met with Trump at the White House.

“Today, President Donald J. Trump and his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are able to announce that Mr. Witkoff is leaving Russian airspace with Marc Fogel, an American who was detained by Russia,” said National Security Advisor Mike Waltz in a statement.

“President Trump, Steve Witkoff, and the President’s advisors negotiated an exchange that serves as a show of good faith from the Russians and a sign that we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine,” Waltz said. “By tonight, Marc Fogel will be on American soil and reunited with his family and loved ones thanks to President Trump’s leadership.”

Marc Hilliard Fogel, 63, is a U.S. schoolteacher from Butler, Pennsylvania. In 2012, he began teaching history at the Anglo-American School in Moscow. In August 2021, upon returning to Moscow for the school year, Fogel was arrested at Sheremetyevo International Airport after authorities discovered approximately 17 grams of medical marijuana in his luggage, which had been prescribed in the U.S. for chronic back pain.

He was subsequently convicted of drug trafficking in June 2022 and sentenced to 14 years in a Russian penal colony. His case drew attention due to the severity of the sentence relative to the offense and the rising geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Russia following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.