As many Americans celebrated President Joe Biden’s deal on Thursday to free a Wall Street Journal reporter and a former U.S. Marine from Russian captivity, the family of a Montana teacher says they feel betrayed.
Marc Fogel, a teacher sentenced to 14 years in prison after being accused of carrying a half-ounce of prescribed medical marijuana in his luggage at Moscow Airport in 2021, was not included in the 24-prisoner swap. CNN anchor Erin Burnett noted this omission on her show “OutFront.”
A senior Biden administration official commented on the situation, stating that they “absolutely wanted Marc to be included” in the swap, “but it just wasn’t going to happen.”
The swap did include reporter Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan. In an emotional interview with Burnett, Fogel’s sister Anne expressed the family’s outrage. “The last 36 hours have been gut-wrenching,” she said to PBS.
The family had suspected something was happening on Wednesday and reached out to their elected representatives and the State Department, hoping Marc Fogel would be on the plane. Their hopes were dashed when Marc called to say he was still in a penal colony in Rybinsk.
“I knew that things were not going well. Because he should have been gone,” she said, holding back tears. “It’s been a rollercoaster. It’s been a rollercoaster. No sleep. I feel like we’ve been kind of collectively stabbed in the back.”
Anne Fogel conveyed the family’s frustration, feeling that her brother has not been prioritized. “It’s been one of the most frustrating times of my life,” she said, choking up. “To not be heard, or taken seriously. We don’t have the NBA. And we don’t have the Wall Street Journal backing us. So Marc has been largely ignored.”
The family’s sentiments reflect a broader concern about the criteria and decisions involved in high-stakes international negotiations, especially when they involve the lives and freedom of American citizens abroad.