During his senate confirmation hearing yesterday, secretary of state nominee Marco Rubio said that he would make Marc Fogel’s release a top priority.
Fogel, an IUP graduate, has been imprisoned in Russia since 2021 when Russian authorities took him into custody after they found a small amount of legally prescribed medicinal marijuana in his luggage. He was tried and convicted of possessing less than an ounce of marijuana and was ordered to serve 14 years in a Russian penal colony.
Newly elected Senator Dave McCormick, a member of the senate committee, asked Rubio if he would make Fogel’s release a priority. Rubio replied “absolutely” and added that he was already involved in conversations on the issue. Rubio also said that if Russian officials are not willing to release Fogel, it would make improving relations between the two countries “impossible” in his words.
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