On Wednesday, January 29, the Russian president signed a decree to pardon the Israeli woman Naama Issahar, who was sentenced to 7.5 years in a general regime colony for smuggling and possession of drugs in October 2019.

“Guided by the principles of humanity, I decide: to pardon Issakhar Naam, born in 1993, convicted on October 11, 2019 by the Khimki City Court of the Moscow Region, freeing her from further serving a sentence of imprisonment,” the text of the decree says.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked “his friend” the President of the Russian Federation for this decision. In turn, the president of the Jewish state, Reuven Rivlin, thanked his Russian counterpart "for wisdom and humanity." The decision of the Russian leader was also welcomed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Jewish state, Israel Katz.

“I want to note the important role of personal contacts between the head of the Israeli government and the president of Russia, as well as good relations between our countries,” he said.

In addition, the mother of the Israeli woman Jaffa Issahar expressed gratitude to the head of state for his sympathy.

“This is the moment that I have been waiting for almost a year, I have come a long way that I do not want anyone to go through. Now all I want is to hug my daughter Naama, ”RIA Novosti quoted the woman as saying.

On January 26, a citizen of Israel and the United States appealed to the President of the Russian Federation with a petition for clemency and release. A day later, the commission on pardon in the Moscow region approved Issakhar's petition. According to the deputy chairman of the commission, Commissioner for Human Rights in the Moscow Region, Ekaterina Semenova, in this document, the girl “partially acknowledges that she actually smuggled drugs for her own use” and “she had no intent to smuggle”.

The day before, the conclusion of the commission was signed by the Governor of the Moscow Region Andrei Vorobyov. In turn, the presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed out that Vladimir Putin will decide to pardon Naama Issahar after completing all the formalities.

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after meeting in Jerusalem with the mother of an Israeli woman, convicted in Russia, Naama Issahar Jaffa
  • RIA News
  • © Sergey Guneev

The Case of Naama Issahar

On April 9, 2019, customs officers detained Naama Issakhar at Sheremetyevo Airport, who had 9.6 grams of hash in their baggage. The girl did not pass customs control at the capital's airport, but was in the so-called sterile zone - the area between the checkpoint at the airport and the plane. She flew from India to Tel Aviv, in Moscow she had a connecting flight.

Issahar did not deny that the prohibited substances belonged to her. According to her, she put hash in her suitcase a long time ago and forgot to take it out when she packed her things for the trip. Note that in Israel, the storage of substances weighing up to 15 grams for personal consumption is legal.

After interrogation, she was arrested and charged under Art. 228 of the Criminal Code ("Illegal possession of narcotic substances"), the maximum sanction for which is three years in prison. However, then the prosecutor’s office saw in the girl’s actions another crime under a more serious article - “Drug smuggling” (part 2 of article 229.1 of the Criminal Code). The maximum penalty for it is up to ten years in prison.

It should be noted that Issakhar pleaded guilty to possession of drugs, but pointed to the illegality of the charges of smuggling, because she did not pass customs control in Russia.

Meanwhile, on October 11, the Khimki City Court found Naama Issahar guilty, sentencing her to 7.5 years in a penal colony.

A few days later, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Jewish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned to Vladimir Putin to pardon the girl.

At the same time, an appeal was filed against the court’s decision, but the Moscow Regional Court on December 19 decided to leave the verdict unchanged.

In January 2020, in anticipation of the visit of Vladimir Putin to Israel and Palestine, it became known that the head of state would discuss the liberation of Naama Issahar with the top leadership of Israel and the mother of the girl, Jaffa Issahar.

During the meeting, the woman asked the head of state "to have mercy on her daughter and return her to Israel."

“I am touched that you wanted to see me, that you are ready to devote time to me from your schedule. I am very worried ... And once again I ask you to have mercy, have mercy on her and return her home, to me, because she is my whole life. I have two daughters, and they are my world, ”said Jaffa Issahar.

In turn, Vladimir Putin assured the woman that "everything will be fine."