Ellen Keelan, heart, and different members of the family rally outdoors the White Home for the discharge of Marc Fogel, who has been detained in Russia since August 2021, July 15, 2023, in Washington.
Stephanie Scarbrough/AP
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Stephanie Scarbrough/AP
The Trump administration says it negotiated a deal to get American Marc Fogel out of jail in Russia. Fogel was a trainer in Russia and was arrested in August 2021 after customs brokers discovered medical marijuana in his baggage.
Nationwide Safety Adviser Mike Waltz mentioned in an announcement on Tuesday that Fogel had been launched in what he known as “an exchange” with Russia and was on his means again to the US.
Trump’s Center East envoy Steve Witkoff flew to Russia to carry Fogel residence.
Fogel had been handed over throughout earlier prisoner swaps with Russia. It was solely final 12 months that the State Division determined that he was being “unjustly detained” — a designation that gave extra urgency to his case. There have been no rapid particulars about what the U.S. gave to Russia to safe Fogel’s launch.
Waltz known as Fogel’s launch an indication of excellent religion from Moscow — and, with out explaining it, linked this to diplomacy on Ukraine, calling the deal “a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine.”
The Fogel household launched an announcement thanking President Trump for securing his launch, saying, “We are beyond grateful, relieved and overwhelmed that after more than three years of detention, our father, husband and son, Marc Fogel, is finally coming home.”
