IUP’s President has issued a statement regarding Marc Fogel, an alumnus who was incarcerated in a Russian state prison nearly two-and-a-half years ago.
Dr. Michael Driscoll’s statement comes on the heels of Fogel’s mother, Malphine, celebrating her 95th birthday this Monday, and in it, he called it “unconscionable” that she is spending another birthday without her son who is a “valued member of the IUP family.” He said IUP continues to fully support the work of several Pennsylvania legislators in “keeping the spotlight on Marc Fogel and encouraging the Biden Administration to designate him as wrongfully detained.”
Fogel has been in custody since August of 2021, when Russian authorities found him with a limited amount of medical marijuana that was legally prescribed to him by a doctor in the U.S. to treat chronic pain. In June of 2022, he was sentenced by a Russian court to a 14-year sentence in a Russian penal colony. In a letter, Congressman Guy Reschenthaler and Senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman said that Fogel’s health has deteriorated and while lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have urged for him to be classified as wrongfully detained, that process has stalled.
You can read Driscoll’s full statement below:
“As we join our legislators in wishing Mrs. Malphine Fogel best wishes in celebration of her 95th birthday on Monday, we also share her pain, sadness and worry for her son Marc Fogel, who has been detained in a Russian prison for 2 ½ years.
It is unconscionable to think of Mrs. Fogel celebrating yet another birthday without her son, who is a valued member of the IUP family.
IUP continues to fully support the work of our legislators – especially Representatives Reschenthaler, Kelly and Deluzio, and Senators Casey and Fetterman – in keeping the spotlight on Marc Fogel and encouraging the Biden Administration to designate him as wrongfully detained.
IUP’s commitment to justice and equal treatment is not just about our campus or our home community – it is about supporting justice for all – in this case, justice for Marc Fogel.
We are proud to stand with these legislators and many others who are working to bring Marc home, and we support efforts to publicize his story, including his long career as an educator and his value as an IUP alumni.
I was proud to join members of the Fogel family in Washington, D.C., to meet with our legislators to call on their help to end Marc’s unjust, inequitable, and cruel detainment.
On behalf of IUP, I have sent my personal happy birthday wishes to Mrs. Fogel and our assurances that Marc is not forgotten.
We hope that the U.S. administration will take all steps possible to free Marc Fogel and that the Russian government will release him. The Biden Administration has not designated him as wrongfully detained while expediting others under similar circumstances. The United States must do right by Marc, as he has served America by teaching many of its children during his over 35-year career as an educator.”
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