Anne Fogel, the sister of Pennsylvania teacher Marc Fogel, says her family feels like they have been “stabbed in the back” after her brother was not part of the historic prisoner swap Thursday that led to the release of three Americans including Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich.
“The last 36 hours have been gut wrenching,” Anne Fogel told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “It’s been a roller coaster. No sleep. I feel like we’ve been kind of collectively stabbed in the back.”
“It has been a uphill struggle to get his story told, and the travesty of him being left behind is phenomenal,” she added to NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo.
White House officials, including national security communications adviser John Kirby, said their focus on releasing Marc Fogel has “not evaporated,” but rather “has intensified.”
“Well, first I can say that we are working like hell to get Marc Fogel out. I am personally working on it,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said. “We’re going to get Marc Fogel out. I can’t get into the specific details because they’re sensitive, but Marc Fogel has been part of the conversation. He is on our agenda. He is a priority for me personally.”
Fogel was detained by Russia three years ago because he had a small amount of medicinal marijuana with him.
The U.S. has called for his release, but they have not designated him a wrongfully detained person yet. This designation, which Whelan and Gershkovich both received, unlocks support from parts of the U.S. government to win the wrongfully detained person’s release.
Fogel’s family has criticized the Biden administration’s decision not to designate him as a wrongfully detained person.
“It’s kind of insult to injury that he still has not been designated as wrongfully detained,” Anne Fogel added. “It’s as if Marc has been deprioritized through this entire process. It’s been one of the most frustrating times of my life not to be heard or taken seriously.”
Biden called Marc Fogel a wrongfully designated person on Thursday while speaking about detained Americans in Russia, but his administration has not made the formal designation yet.
Leaders in Pennsylvania, including Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), have also criticized Biden for not designating Fogel as wrongfully detained.
“I believe the administration’s outreach to and communication with the family has been unacceptable. They simply haven’t done enough of it,” Casey told TribLive in July.
“There’s no excuse for the way they’ve handled this. No explanation makes sense for the way they’ve engaged with the family — or I should say not engaged. Even the way they’ve engaged vis-a-vis Marc himself,” he added.
In a statement on Thursday, Casey celebrated the Americans’ release but also renewed his calls for Fogel’s release.
“While Marc’s name may not be in the news every day, he is no less deserving of a reunion with his family,” Casey wrote. “This is a difficult day for Marc and his family.’
Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) also registered his disappointment over the prisoner release not including Fogel.
“Truly incomprehensible that he would not be included in Biden’s deal with Russia. No man left behind,” Zinke wrote on social platform X.
Reporters asked Biden about Fogel on Friday, and he responded by saying, “We’re not giving up.” When asked what more he can do, Biden responded, “You want me to tell you ahead of time so he doesn’t get out?”
Updated at 2:50 p.m. EDT