Hostages left behind: US ballerina, teacher remain in Russia
- Gershkovich, Whelan among 16 people heading home from Russia
- Arrests of Americans have become increasingly common in Russia
- Family of hostages left behind say they're not being prioritized
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(NewsNation) — Los Angeles ballerina Ksenia Karelina and Pennsylvania teacher Marc Fogel were not included in the Russia-U.S. prisoner swap.
Annie Fogel, Marc’s sister, and Chris van Heerden, Ksenia’s boyfriend, told NewsNation’s “CUOMO” on Thursday night they fear that their family members aren’t being prioritized.
Ksenia Karelina
Karelina was detained in January during a trip to visit family and faces up to 20 years in prison.
“My Ksenia is not back. She’s not included in that list,” Van Heerden said. “She’s struggling, and I plea that we make a plan to get Ksenia back.”
Russia’s Federal Security Service claims Karelina, 33, raised money for an organization that was providing weapons, ammunition and other supplies to the Ukrainian military, which is fighting an ongoing war with Russia.
Van Heerden has previously said that Karelina was collecting funds for humanitarian aid and had donated to Razom for Ukraine, a U.S.-based nonprofit that says it provides medical kits and disaster relief to those affected by Russia’s invasion of the country.
Additionally, Isabella Koretz, Karelina’s boss, said Karelina donated about $50 for humanitarian causes and disaster relief.
Karelina, who was born in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg but lives in Los Angeles, faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Almost all Russian criminal cases that make it to court end in convictions, the Associated Press reported.
Marc Fogel
Fogel was convicted in 2002 for possessing marijuana, which he said he used for medical reasons. He has been serving a 14-year sentence. Members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation have been calling on the Biden administration to include Fogel in any prisoner swap with Russia.
Fogel “does not have the NBA behind him, and he doesn’t have The Wall Street Journal behind him,” Annie Fogel said on “CUOMO.” “It’s been an uphill struggle to get his story told and the travesty of him being left behind is phenomenal.”
Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker said it’s “entirely unacceptable” for Russia to jail Americans and that the United States needs to “show Russia some consequences.”
Arrests of Americans are increasingly common in Russia, especially since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan’s unjust imprisonment as hostages is yet another sobering reminder of how evil the Putin regime really is,” Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Penn., wrote in response to the news of their release.
