III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 18 

Calling for the immediate release of Marc Fogel, a United States citizen 

and teacher, who was given an unjust and disproportionate criminal 

sentence by the Government of the Russian Federation in June 2022. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 26, 2023 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. DAINES, Mr. FETTERMAN, and Mr. TESTER) 

submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Calling for the immediate release of Marc Fogel, a United 

States citizen and teacher, who was given an unjust 

and disproportionate criminal sentence by the Government of the Russian Federation in June 2022. 

Whereas United States citizen Marc Fogel has lived a life of 

service, teaching history at international schools in Colombia, Malaysia, Oman, Venezuela, and Russia for 35 

years; 

Whereas Marc Fogel taught at the Anglo-American School of 

Moscow from 2012 to 2021, honorably serving the children of United States diplomats and members of the 

Armed Forces; 


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•SCON 18 IS 

Whereas Marc Fogel is known to his family, friends, colleagues, and students as a kind, personable, upbeat, and 

giving man, a loving father, and a passionate and dedicated teacher; 

Whereas Marc Fogel has undergone three back surgeries, a 

spinal fusion, a hip replacement, and two knee surgeries 

to correct various injuries and health issues, which have 

left him with chronic back pain and a permanent limp; 

Whereas Marc Fogel did not wish to use opioids to manage 

his pain and was instead prescribed medical marijuana 

for pain management in a manner consistent with the 

State law of Pennsylvania; 

Whereas, on August 14, 2021, as he returned to Russia for 

one final year of teaching before his intended retirement, 

Marc Fogel was arrested in the Sheremetyevo airport in 

Moscow for carrying about half an ounce of medical 

marijuana in his luggage; 

Whereas Marc Fogel has stated he intended that marijuana 

solely for personal consumption, and the Government of 

the Russian Federation has presented no evidence to the 

contrary; 

Whereas, on June 16, 2022, a Russian court convicted Marc 

Fogel of ‘‘large-scale drugs smuggling’’ in a politicized 

show trial and sentenced him to 14 years in a maximumsecurity penal colony in Russia; 

Whereas Russian lawyers informed the family that the typical 

sentence for Marc Fogel’s offense is five years of probation, and in 2019, the same Russian court sentenced 

Alexander Grigoriev to eight years in prison for the possession of 1,500 grams of various narcotics; 


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•SCON 18 IS 

Whereas Marc Fogel’s sentence is vastly disproportionate to 

the severity of his nonviolent crime, wildly dissimilar to 

the typical punishments for comparable offenses in Russia, and clearly motivated by ongoing political tensions 

between Russia and the United States; 

Whereas, in August 2022, Russian courts denied Marc 

Fogel’s appeal of his sentence; 

Whereas the 2021 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Russia issued by the Department of State reported, ‘‘Conditions in prisons and detention centers . . . 

were often harsh and life threatening. Overcrowding, 

abuse by guards and inmates, limited access to health 

care, food shortages, and inadequate sanitation were 

common’’; 

Whereas Marc Fogel turns 62 years old in July 2023, and 

his physical and mental health is rapidly declining due to 

the stress and harsh conditions of his detention, such 

that his family fears he will not survive his sentence; and 

Whereas the Department of State requested Marc Fogel be 

released from Russian custody on humanitarian grounds, 

but received no response to that request: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) calls on the Government of the Russian 

4 Federation to immediately release Marc Fogel, who 

5 has already served more time in prison than his 

6 minor and nonviolent crimes can justify; 


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•SCON 18 IS 

1 (2) urges the Government of the Russian Fed2 eration to respect Marc Fogel’s human rights and to 

3 provide full, unfettered, and consistent consular ac4 cess to Marc Fogel while he remains in detention, in 

5 accordance with its international obligations; 

6 (3) urges all United States executive branch of7 ficials, including President Joseph Biden, Secretary 

8 of State Antony Blinken, and Special Presidential 

9 Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, to raise 

10 the case of Marc Fogel and to press for his imme11 diate release in all interactions with the Government 

12 of the Russian Federation; 

13 (4) urges the Government of the Russian Fed14 eration to desist from issuing outlandishly dispropor15 tionate criminal sentences to nonviolent United 

16 States citizens; 

17 (5) condemns the Government of the Russian 

18 Federation’s continued use of detentions and pros19 ecutions of citizens and lawful permanent residents 

20 of the United States for political purposes; 

21 (6) calls for the immediate release of other citi22 zens and lawful permanent residents of the United 

23 States who are wrongfully detained in Russia, such 

24 as Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, and Vladimir 

25 Kara-Murza; and 


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•SCON 18 IS 

1 (7) expresses sympathy for and solidarity with 

2 the families of all other citizens and lawful perma3 nent residents of the United States wrongfully de4 tained abroad for the personal hardship experienced 

5 as a result of the arbitrary and baseless detention of 

6 their loved ones. 

Æ 


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