Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on Tuesday against the U.S. State Department related to the department not issuing a wrongful detention designation for U.S. citizen Jimmy Wilgus who was sentenced in Russia.

Judicial Watch is seeking "all records related to why the department has not issued a 'wrongful' detention designation for Jimmy Wilgus, a U.S. citizen sentenced to 12.5 years in a Russian penal colony on allegedly false charges based on a forced confession and fabricated evidence."

Wilgus was arrested and charged with indecent exposure on November 7, 2016 in a part of Russia that his family said he hasn't visited before, according to WUSA9 report that Judicial Watch cited in the lawsuit.

Judicial Watch decided to file the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia when the State Department did not respond to its February 27, 2024 FOIA request.

Wilgus' parents have been advocating for the U.S. government to help them free their son.

"We are grateful to Senator Robert Menendez for his recent assistance and pray his actions will bring our son home where he can get professional medical care. We plead with President Biden, Secretary Blinken and Ambassador Carstens to exert influence to expedite Jimmy's release. Russia treats American prisoners like pieces on a game board, but Jimmy's life isn't a game," they said in a statement last year.