Editorial: Oscar speech a reminder of imprisoned teacher Marc Fogel

On Sunday, in front of a glittering array of Hollywood luminaries and the eyes of millions, a documentary about a man unjustly held in a Russian prison was honored with an iconic golden statuette.

In accepting the Oscar, “Navalny” director Daniel Roher stood alongside a team of others — including Alexei Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya — and dedicated the award to “all political prisoners around the world.”

As far as many American leaders are concerned, this could refer to Oakmont’s Marc Fogel.

Fogel, a teacher at the Anglo-American School in Moscow whose students included former ambassador Michael McFaul’s son, did commit an act that was wrong when he was found to have a small amount of marijuana at the airport in the Russian capital.

But does that crime — which is no crime at all in Pennsylvania, as Fogel was using the medical cannabis to treat chronic pain — merit spending 14 years laboring in a penal colony? Does it equal what could be a death sentence for a 63-year-old man with health concerns?

Pennsylvania lawmakers say no. So do other elected and appointed officials in Washington.

Russia convicted Fogel of drug trafficking, which would be laughably false if it wasn’t such a deadly serious situation. He was convicted the same way WNBA star Brittney Griner was — essentially having a parking ticket turned into felony. Fogel and Paul Whelan, a former Marine sentenced to 16 years for espionage, could be seen as political leverage more than criminals.

“We take seriously our commitment to assist U.S. citizens detained abroad and provide all appropriate consular assistance. Consular officers last visited Marc Fogel in person on February 9,” a State Department spokesperson said Monday. “As Ambassador (Lynne M.) Tracy said, we have called on the Russian government to release Marc Fogel on humanitarian grounds.”

Fogel has been in Russian custody for one year and seven months. Griner spent 10 months behind bars with the pressure of the world watching before her release.

It is past time for Fogel to be brought home.

“Alexei, I am dreaming about the day you will be free, and our country will be free. Stay strong, my love,” Navalnaya told her husband from the Oscars stage.

Fogel needs his country to profess that kind of commitment.