Marc Fogel, who was wrongfully detained in Russia over three years ago, has been released in an exchange with the U.S. that the Trump administration says is a step toward ending the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Russian authorities freed Fogel on Tuesday and handed him over to President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, who negotiated the deal. Witkoff personally flew Fogel back to the U.S. on his private jet. The American teacher will be back on U.S. soil by the end of the day, the White House said.
“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 we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine,” National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said in a statement.
The Trump administration did not reveal specific details of the exchange, including what the U.S. side of the bargain entailed. Past negotiations between the U.S. and Russia have led to reciprocal releases of prisoners.
Fogel was arrested in August 2021 at a Russian airport and sentenced in June 2022 to serve 14 years at a forced labor camp for carrying cannabis, which his family and supporters said was medically prescribed marijuana to treat his spinal pain. He was found guilty of committing “large-scale drugs smuggling.”
Fogel was notably excluded from the prisoner swap that freed former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in August. Under the deal, 16 political prisoners were released from Russian custody in exchange for eight Russians imprisoned in the U.S. and allied countries. Among them was Vadim Krasikov, a convicted Russian state assassin held in Germany.
That deal came four months before the Biden administration designated Fogel as wrongfully detained.
Fogel’s lawyers thanked President Trump for securing his “long overdue” release after taking office three weeks ago, subtly criticizing the previous administration’s refusal to categorize their client as a wrongful detainee.
At least a dozen other American citizens remain jailed in Russia. For example, Russian-American ballet dancer Ksenia Khavana was arrested in January 2024 for treason after donating $51.80 to a Ukrainian charity.
Before his arrest, Fogel worked as a history teacher at the Anglo-American School in Moscow. He graduated from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1984.
“This has been the darkest and most painful period of our lives, but today, we begin to heal,” Fogel’s family told the Associated Press. “For the first time in years, our family can look forward to the future with hope.”
Trump is reportedly speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, which started in February 2022. Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his war-torn country later this week.