A week after 16 people were released from Russian prisons in a historic, multicountry deal, U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick met with the mother of international teacher Marc Fogel in Pittsburgh to discuss the Butler native’s imprisonment.

Marc Fogel is a U.S. citizens who was not freed in the civilian prisoner exchange. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison for possession of medical marijuana, for which he had a prescription; it was used to treat a back injury.

A lawsuit filed by Marc Fogel’s mother against the Department of State alleges he was set up by an informant.

“It was an honor to visit with Mrs. Malphine Fogel here in Pittsburgh today,” McCormick wrote on X. “Malphine’s son Marc Fogel has been wrongfully detained in a Russian prison for three years and sadly wasn’t included in the recent prisoner swap. We need to make it a top priority to get Marc home.”

In a video posted on X, McCormick called for Marc Fogel to be designated as wrongfully detained. He has not yet received the designation from the State Department.

Malphine Fogel said the wrongful detention designation is critical, and that other efforts to bring her son home “would go from there.” The U.S. citizens who were included in last week’s prisoner swap all had the designation.

The legal status would provide health and mental health services for Marc Fogel as well as his family members who are advocating for his release.

“Marc has just been completely disheartened by the release of the hostages the other day,” Malphine Fogel said in the video. “I think he thought he’d be part of that … we’ve been disappointed over and over, so we’re hoping something happens.”