On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin sat down with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson for an interview. Amid discussion of the war with Ukraine, about to enter its second year, he brought up another topic followed by Americans.
He spoke of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Russia, he said, is ready to negotiate for a prisoner exchange involving the journalist arrested on espionage charges in March 2023.
“He was caught red-handed,” Putin said.
Gershkovich denies spying. The Wall Street Journal backs that up. The U.S. State Department has designated Gershkovich as wrongfully detained.
Yet Putin insisted that finding a way to get Gershkovich home is the U.S. government’s responsibility to “think about how they can contribute to achieving the goals our special services are pursuing.” He included thinly veiled references to hitman Vadim Krasikov, convicted in Germany of the 2019 murder of a Georgian citizen.
Krasikov has been floated as an exchange possibility before. Commitment to negotiations has been mentioned before, with the State Department stressing negotiations were only for Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, also charged with espionage.
Once again, there is no mention of Oakmont teacher Marc Fogel, 62, who was arrested in August 2021 for possession of medical marijuana for chronic back pain.
On Monday, one of his former students, Elinor Harty, now director of alumni relations at the Wilson Center, wrote a column about Fogel. It appeared in the independent online publication The Moscow Times, which, like the Anglo-
American School of Moscow where Fogel taught, has been designated a foreign agent by the Russian government.
“We can only hope that the State Department’s efforts to release Mr. Fogel and other detained Americans come to fruition. Until then, it is up to the American public to remain committed to raising awareness on their behalf. We cannot forget about the Marc Fogels of the world,” Harty wrote.
But how do we hold that hope when Fogel is never brought up in conversations about Gershkovich and Whelan?
Yet again, TribLive has asked the State Department a series of questions about Fogel’s condition and efforts on his behalf. The responses have once again been unsatisfying. While they were last in contact with him Jan. 25, there is still no information about changing his status to wrongfully detained or efforts to negotiate for his release beyond a humanitarian appeal.
“We urge the Russian government to ensure fair treatment and appropriate medical care for all U.S. citizens detained in Russia,” a spokesperson stated.
Putin wants to exchange a journalist for a hitman, the same way he exchanged imprisoned basketball player Brittney Griner for an arms dealer. An appeal to his humanitarian nature seems unlikely to succeed.
Instead, Americans need to appeal to the State Department’s humanity to include Fogel in these discussions.
This article was originally published by a triblive.com . Read the Original article here. .