NBC Montana: Montana senators demand Russia release detained American citizen

U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester, along with other bipartisan support, created a resolution asking for the release of Marc Fogel from Russia.

Fogel, a U.S. citizen who was imprisoned by Russia in August 2021, is a career educator who has family living in Montana.

Senators say the resolution implores the Biden Administration to help hasten the release of Fogel from Russia, as well as other U.S. citizens and permanent residents wrongly incarcerated.

The United States Senate released the following information:

U.S. Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines today joined with a bipartisan group of colleagues to introduce a resolution calling for the immediate release of Marc Fogel from Russia. Fogel is a U.S. citizen and career educator who has been unjustly imprisoned by Russia since August 2021. The resolution urges the Biden Administration to prioritize securing the release of Mr. Fogel, whose immediate family resides in Montana, and all other U.S. citizens and permanent residents who are wrongfully detained by Russia.

“Marc Fogel has been unjustly imprisoned in Russia for too long, and I continue to call on the Administration to secure his return,” Tester said. “I recently met with Marc’s family and I pledged to keep pushing to bring him home. I won’t rest until this innocent American is reunited with his loved ones.”

“Marc Fogel has spent years as a teacher shaping the next generation of leaders and this week is his 62nd birthday, but instead of celebrating with his friends and family, Marc will be spending it unjustly detained in a Russian labor camp,” Daines said. “I’ve worked closely with Marc’s family, former Ambassador McFaul and my colleagues in the Senate to urge the Biden administration to do everything they can to bring him home safely and I won’t stop until he is released.”

Tester and Daines have been leading the push to secure Mr. Fogel’s release and reunite him with his loved ones. Last August, Tester and Daines sent a letter to Secretary Blinken urging the State Department to designate Mr. Fogel as “wrongfully detained,” so his case can get the appropriate attention from U.S. officials.