Families of detained Americans plead that they are not forgotten

“One of the most challenging things” about being imprisoned in Russia, Marc Fogel recalled, “was feeling like I might be forgotten.”

“One of the most challenging things” about being imprisoned in Russia, Marc Fogel recalled, “was feeling like I might be forgotten.” Fogel, a teacher, was detained for three and half years before being released in mid-February – becoming one of the first American detainees freed during President Donald Trump’s second term. Fogel returned to Washington, DC, on Wednesday – in front of a mural of Americans detained abroad – to join with the families of others still imprisoned to call for their release. “I am one of the lucky ones, and I want you to know that I and my family will work relentlessly for you all, because we want all of your loved ones here soon,” he said. Fogel was among several Americans who had been freed from detention abroad who attended Wednesday’s mural unveiling. It was the third iteration of the project, organized by the Bring Our Families Home Campaign and created by artist Isaac Campbell, displaying 10-foot-tall faces of Americans detained abroad on an alley wall in the Georgetown neighborhood of the nation’s capital. “It gives them a name. Their faces, as you can see, are larger than life, so that they can no longer be ignored,” said Scott St. Clair, whose son, Joseph St. Clair, is a veteran imprisoned in Venezuela. He is one of nine Americans there designated as wrongfully detained.