The sister of Marc Fogel, an American teacher imprisoned in Russia for illegal possession of cannabis, told the BBC that she wishes her brother was among those freed during the historic US-Russia prisoner swap earlier this week.
Mr Fogel, 63, was arrested at an airport in August 2021 and charged with carrying a small amount of medical marijuana, which had been prescribed in the US.
The native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was a teacher at the Anglo-American School of Moscow.
While serving out his 14-year prison sentence, Mr Fogel has reportedly been teaching English to fellow inmates.
Anne Fogel said she last spoke to her brother on Wednesday, when their family undertook a “massive effort” to get him on the plane with the other freed US prisoners.
Reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Wheelan and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva were taken to the US after they were released in the largest prisoner swap between Russia and the West since the Cold War.
Anne Fogel detailed the family’s effort in an interview with the BBC: “We were frantically calling senators and congressmen and our ambassadors, former Russian ambassadors who served there, and I had no news for him, even though he knew that something was happening.”
Anne said her brother may have been aware a prisoner swap was taking place because “they play news nonstop in the Russian penal colonies”.
“He knew that something was going on, because… Paul Whelan had been moved and Evan (Gershkovich) had been moved.”
After learning her brother was not part of the swap, she said she felt “betrayal”.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Thursday, the day of the prisoner swap, that the US was still “actively working to get his (Mark Fogel’s) release”.
When asked about the American’s case the following day, President Biden said that “we’re not giving up on that”.
Asked whether that gave her hope, Anne said: “I’m playing to whatever hope I can so yes, to a certain degree.
“The administration pulled off a masterful, incredible swap and they should be congratulated… and I’m very happy for the return of Paul and Evan and Alsu.
“I just wished my brother was among them.”
Anne said her message to the White House was: “Please, please do everything you can to get him out. He’s the oldest one there, and he’s the most infirm. Please help us.”
White House National Security Council deputy adviser, Jonathan Finer, said on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday that “we worked to try to get Marc included in the deal that consummated last week”.
“And we are right back at it to try to get Marc back to the United States and unite (him) with his family.”
He said that officials work on Mr Fogel’s case “every single day”.
Mr Finer declined to predict whether the American might be returned by the end of the Biden administration in January.