[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 18 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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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;
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 maximum-security 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;
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
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) calls on the Government of the Russian Federation to 
        immediately release Marc Fogel, who has already served more 
        time in prison than his minor and nonviolent crimes can 
        justify;
            (2) urges the Government of the Russian Federation to 
        respect Marc Fogel's human rights and to provide full, 
        unfettered, and consistent consular access to Marc Fogel while 
        he remains in detention, in accordance with its international 
        obligations;
            (3) urges all United States executive branch officials, 
        including President Joseph Biden, Secretary of State Antony 
        Blinken, and Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs 
        Roger Carstens, to raise the case of Marc Fogel and to press 
        for his immediate release in all interactions with the 
        Government of the Russian Federation;
            (4) urges the Government of the Russian Federation to 
        desist from issuing outlandishly disproportionate criminal 
        sentences to nonviolent United States citizens;
            (5) condemns the Government of the Russian Federation's 
        continued use of detentions and prosecutions of citizens and 
        lawful permanent residents of the United States for political 
        purposes;
            (6) calls for the immediate release of other citizens and 
        lawful permanent residents of the United States who are 
        wrongfully detained in Russia, such as Paul Whelan, Evan 
        Gershkovich, and Vladimir Kara-Murza; and
            (7) expresses sympathy for and solidarity with the families 
        of all other citizens and lawful permanent residents of the 
        United States wrongfully detained abroad for the personal 
        hardship experienced as a result of the arbitrary and baseless 
        detention of their loved ones.
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