The State Department says an American schoolteacher arrested in Russia on drug charges more than four years ago has been designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained.

The United States government on Friday announced they have designated Marc Fogel as "wrongfully detained" in Russia.

The U.S. government has declared Marc Fogel as wrongfully detained. It’s a status that will provide Fogel and his family additional resources as they work for his release from a Russian prison.

More than three years after he was arrested in Russia for possessing medical marijuana, the United States government has declared Marc Fogel wrongfully detained — a status that will provide him and his family much-needed resources as they continue to work for his release.