III 

Calendar No. 380 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D 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, Mr. TESTER, Mr. 

TILLIS, and Mr. COONS) submitted the following concurrent resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

MAY 7, 2024 

Reported by Mr. CARDIN, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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; 


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•SCON 18 RS 

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; 

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 probaVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:39 May 08, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SC18.RS SC18

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•SCON 18 RS 

tion, 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; 

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 


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•SCON 18 RS 

1 has already served more time in prison than his 

2 minor and nonviolent crimes can justify; 

3 (2) urges the Government of the Russian Fed4 eration to respect Marc Fogel’s human rights and to 

5 provide full, unfettered, and consistent consular ac6 cess to Marc Fogel while he remains in detention, in 

7 accordance with its international obligations; 

8 (3) urges all United States executive branch of9 ficials, including President Joseph Biden, Secretary 

10 of State Antony Blinken, and Special Presidential 

11 Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, to raise 

12 the case of Marc Fogel and to press for his imme13 diate release in all interactions with the Government 

14 of the Russian Federation; 

15 (4) urges the Government of the Russian Fed16 eration to desist from issuing outlandishly dispropor17 tionate criminal sentences to nonviolent United 

18 States citizens; 

19 (5) condemns the Government of the Russian 

20 Federation’s continued use of detentions and pros21 ecutions of citizens and lawful permanent residents 

22 of the United States for political purposes; 

23 (6) calls for the immediate release of other citi24 zens and lawful permanent residents of the United 

25 States who are wrongfully detained in Russia, such 


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•SCON 18 RS 

1 as Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, and Vladimir 

2 Kara-Murza; and 

3 (7) expresses sympathy for and solidarity with 

4 the families of all other citizens and lawful perma5 nent residents of the United States wrongfully de6 tained abroad for the personal hardship experienced 

7 as a result of the arbitrary and baseless detention of 

8 their loved ones. 

9 That Congress— 

10 (1) calls on the Government of the Russian Fed11 eration to immediately release Marc Fogel, who has 

12 already served more time in prison than his minor 

13 and nonviolent crimes can justify; 

14 (2) urges the Government of the Russian Federa15 tion to respect Marc Fogel’s human rights and to pro16 vide full, unfettered, and consistent consular access to 

17 Marc Fogel while he remains in detention, in accord18 ance with its international obligations; 

19 (3) urges all United States executive branch offi20 cials, including relevant officials at the Department 

21 of State and the White House, to raise the case of 

22 Marc Fogel and to press for his immediate release in 

23 all interactions with the Government of the Russian 

24 Federation; 


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•SCON 18 RS 

1 (4) urges the Government of the Russian Federa2 tion to desist from issuing outlandishly dispropor3 tionate criminal sentences to nonviolent United States 

4 nationals; 

5 (5) condemns the Government of the Russian 

6 Federation’s continued use of detentions and prosecu7 tions of citizens and lawful permanent residents of the 

8 United States for political purposes; 

9 (6) calls for the immediate release of other citi10 zens and lawful permanent residents of the United 

11 States who are wrongfully and unlawfully detained 

12 in Russia, such as Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, 

13 Ksenia Khavana, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir 

14 Kara-Murza; and 

15 (7) expresses sympathy for and solidarity with 

16 the families of all other citizens and lawful perma17 nent residents of the United States wrongfully de18 tained abroad for the personal hardship experienced 

19 as a result of the arbitrary and baseless detention of 

20 their loved ones. 


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Calendar No. 380 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. CON. RES. 18 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Calling for the immediate release of Marc Fogel, a 

June 2022. by the Government of the Russian Federation in an unjust and disproportionate criminal sentence United States citizen and teacher, who was given 

MAY 7, 2024 

Reported with an amendment 


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