Her attorney previously noted that no convicted foreigner was ever pardoned by a Russian President before. The decision came ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Moscow on Thursday. Natan Sharansky, a former Soviet dissident and a former Israeli cabinet minister who has monitored the case, called the legal proceedings against Ms. Issachar a “farce” and described her as a “hostage” for ransom. Born in New Jersey, Ms. Issachar moved with her family to Israel as a teenager because she wanted to go to an Israeli high school in preparation for performing military service in a combat unit. Russian officials have described him in the past as an “average Russian citizen” facing “politicized and biased” justice in the United States and have described the case as an example of Russian diplomats’ going to bat for their people abroad. The Israeli authorities did not initially tell her of any connection to Mr. Burkov’s case, she said, and American officials offered sympathy but no practical help.

She circulated through several facilities, including the one where Griner is believed to be held now, and a women’s detention center where she awaited trial for six months. Washington hasn’t disclosed its strategy in the case and the US may have little leverage with Moscow because of strong animosity over its actions in Ukraine. The State Department’s designation of Griner as wrongfully detained moves her case under the supervision of its special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, effectively the government’s chief hostage negotiator.

Burkov’s extradition to the US was officially approved by Israel’s Supreme Court in August. Burkov’s family has suggested a prisoner swap between Burkov and Issachar, according to Russia’s state-run RT television channel. Issachar appears to be trapped in the middle of a diplomatic dispute over which she has no control, as Russia tries to secure the release of Aleksey Burkov, an IT specialist wanted in the United States on charges of hacking and credit card fraud. In an interview with i24 News, Gold explained that the family’s pleas to the U.S. and Israeli governments, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have fallen on deaf ears.

The proximity of the arrests led analysts to believe Whelan was being held as leverage to secure Butina’s release. “I know what she’s going through,” Issachar told NBC News, days after Griner pleaded guilty to drug possession charges on the second day of her trial in a Russian court in a case that could see her sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. She is now being held in a prison about 50 miles outside Moscow and is not allowed phone calls, her mother said.

Gain access to exclusive content shared only with the ToI Community, including weekly letters from founding editor David Horovitz. “Due to the presidential decree on pardoning, Naama Issachar has been freed from prison,” the prison service said in a statement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu subsequently personally requested from Russian President Vladimir Putin a pardon for Issachar, which Putin said he would consider. Naama Issachar, 26, was arrested in Moscow in April 2019 after more than nine grams of marijuana were found in her luggage.

Naama Issachar: US-Israeli woman released from Russian prison

An undated selfie photograph of neurotoxic medications, a New Jersey native who was sentenced in Russia on Friday. The statement effectively confirmed that a swap had been proposed — something that Mr. Netanyahu ruled out. “Judicial authorities in Israel have made it unequivocally clear that there is no possibility of preventing the extradition of Burkov,” Mr. Netanyahu’s office said. Ms. Issachar happened to be traveling through Moscow from India, where she had studied yoga, “to save $200 on the airfare,” her mother, Yaffa Issachar, said in a telephone interview from Moscow.

Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Her release came ahead of Putin’s talks with Netanyahu on Thursday. Russia is accused of having used prisoners in the past as form of political leverage, including in some high-profile cases. Issachar’s father Netanel turned his attention to Netanyahu, asking the 69-year-old Israeli leader to do everything in his power to secure Naama’s release. “I turn to you as to one father to another and as the Prime Minister. A WeWantNaama Facebook page was created on August 16 to garner support for Issachar and keep the public updated on the status of her case.

On August 20, a prosecutor laid out the charges against the young woman, then the judge postponed the defense’s opening statements until September 3, the Jerusalem Post reported. Alicia Victoria Lozano is a California-based reporter for NBC News focusing on climate change, wildfires and the changing politics of drug laws. When Issachar tried to board, she was pulled aside and led to a room where her luggage was searched in front of her, she said.

An Israeli-American woman jailed in Russia on drug charges has been released from prison after some 10 months, the Russian prison service said Thursday morning. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Last week, a Russian national whose extradition from Israel to the US was believed to be linked to Isaachar’s fate, pleaded guilty to running a website that helped people commit more than $20 million in credit card fraud. Aleksey Burkov, 29, of St. Petersburg, Russia, entered the plea to charges including fraud and money laundering in a federal court in Virginia.

But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community. According to Hebrew media reports, Russia had asked Israel to transfer a piece of Russian Orthodox Church property near the Old City of Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre to the Kremlin, as a goodwill gesture ahead of Issachar’s release. Naama’s release was done as a gesture by President Putin to the US,” a senior official in an inter-ministerial committee dealing with the case told reporters in Netanyahu’s entourage. In Jerusalem to the Putin-allied Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society from the competing Imperial Orthodox Palestine Historic Society, which many commentators linked to negotiating Issachar’s release.On 29 January 2020 President Putin signed her pardon.

Earlier, an Israeli official said Issachar’s release was the result of a Russian goodwill gesture toward the United States, stressing that Israel did not give Moscow anything in return. “I, like all Israeli residents, are delighted by the joy of the mother Yaffa and the Issachar family on Naama’s return home,” Katz said in a statement. On 19 October 2019 rallies were held in Tel Aviv and in New York City calling for Issachar’s release. Billboards were put up in Israel calling on Putin to “please bring Naama home.” alcohol abuse vs alcohol dependence was returning from a trip to India when she was detained.

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In Iran, two Australian hikers were held for weeks in a case that has been unexplained but that came at a time of rising animosity between Tehran and the West. “I will make a decision in the coming days,” Ohana said about the American extradition request. Ohana could decide to hold Burkov in Israel as the country’s leaders try to secure the release of Issachar. Before Issachar was released, Israeli officials reportedly turned down an offer by Moscow to swap her for Russian national Aleksei Burkov, whose website facilitated more than $20 million in credit card fraud.

• “I will make a decision in the coming days,” Ohana said about the American extradition request.
• The Kremlin made Butina’s release a priority, even launching a #freemariabutina hashtag while accusing the US of subjecting her to a “medieval inquisition” in detention.
• She is now being held in a prison about 50 miles outside Moscow and is not allowed phone calls, her mother said.
• According to Israeli officials and Ms. Issachar’s relatives, Moscow has linked her fate to that of a little-known Russian held in Israel while facing extradition to the United States on computer crime charges.

During that visit, Putin met Issachar’s mother and told her “everything will be all right.” He pardoned her shortly afterward. The backpacker agreed with the interviewer when asked if she believed she was a political pawn. Issachar’s plight was a major issue for Israelis, garnering extensive press coverage, particularly when Putin visited Israel for the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. She denied smuggling drugs, noting she had not sought to enter Russia during the layover on her way to Israel from India, and had no access to her luggage during her brief stay in the Russian airport. “I see the videos of her and I’m like, I know that courtroom,” Issachar said in the English-language interview, agreeing with the interviewer that she hoped Griner hears her remarks.

Before Brittney Griner, an American Israeli woman was held in a Russian prison for having cannabis

After her army discharge, Issachar left Israel on January 9 for a three-month backpacking trip through India. For many Israelis, backpacking through India, South East Asia, and South America is a rite of passage after concluding their military service, allowing them to relax and have fun before heading off to school or finding a job. There she shared a cell with 40 other women and was allowed outside only one hour a day. She was not given toilet paper, shampoo or even feminine hygiene products, and she relied on her mother to deliver necessary goods. For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.

The page currently has over 2,000 members who are commenting and sharing information. The pages include appeals to the United States and Israel to take action and warns about flying through Russia. Both are asking followers to use the hashtags #FreeNaama and #WeWantNaama. Embassy have met with her four times and a Moscow rabbi has been able to pass letters to Issachar from family members. Her family emphasized that during her four-hour layover in Moscow, she had no access to the marijuana officials found in her bag, and wasn’t planning on staying in Russia.

The Family Started a Social Media Campaign & Petition to Help Secure Naama’s Release

No translator was present and because she did not speak Russian, she was confused and unsure about what was happening. After the cannabis was discovered, she was told to stay in the airport. Griner, 31, was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport while returning to play basketball in Russia, and police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage. “I find it insane that I was detained for almost a full day without knowing I was detained,” she said. Putin was in Israel last Thursday for a one-day visit to attend the World Holocaust Forum, which this year marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp.

In Russia, possession of such an amount by a foreigner would normally result in up to a month’s detention, a fine and expulsion, her lawyer told her family. According to Israeli officials and Ms. Issachar’s relatives, Moscow has linked her fate to that of a little-known Russian held in Israel while facing extradition to the United States on computer crime charges. “Due to the presidential decree on pardoning, why does alcohol cause easy bruising has been freed from prison,” the service said in a statement about the 26 year old. The Kremlin made Butina’s release a priority, even launching a #freemariabutina hashtag while accusing the US of subjecting her to a “medieval inquisition” in detention.

She is expected to travel back to Israel on the prime minister’s plane. Naama Issachar, 27, was sentenced by Russia to 7.5 years in prison after nearly 10 grams of marijuana were found in her luggage during a layover in a Moscow airport in April. She has denied smuggling drugs, noting she had not sought to enter Russia during the layover on her way to Israel from India, and had no access to her luggage during her brief stay in the Russian airport. In Israel, the newspaper Haaretz reported this past week that Mr. Burkov had been indicted in Virginia in 2015 on four counts of fraud; a year later, charges of identity theft, money laundering and illegal access of a computer were added.

26-year-old Naama Issachar was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison on drug smuggling charges. Issachar was released from Russian prison after approximately 10 months on Jan. 30, 2020. She was arrested after about 10 grams of marijuana was discovered in her luggage during a layover in Moscow. Her case has drawn comparisons to the case of Griner, the WNBA basketball star whopleaded guilty last week to drug charges in a Moscow court. She faces up to 10 years in prison as her family and friends step up calls for the U.S. government to do more to free her.

Russia has released a dual US-Israeli national who was detained on charges of drug trafficking last year. The prime minister “requested a commuting of the sentence and an easing of the terms of Naama’s detention,” the statement added, a highly unusual intervention in a criminal case involving an Israeli citizen abroad. The amount of marijuana said to have been in Ms. Issachar’s possession — 9.5 grams, or .33 ounces — is well within the legal limit for personal use in Israel.

Reports in Hebrew-language media said Israeli officials believed Burkov may be connected to Russian intelligence. An Israeli-American woman who was jailed in Russia for 10 months before being released in 2020 has spoken for the first time about her experience, which closely echoes that of detained American basketball star Brittney Griner. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Moscow on Thursday morning to welcome Issachar upon her release, which comes weeks before national elections in Israel.

For Ms. Issachar’s family, ominous signs emerged soon after her arrest in April. At her first hearing, the prosecutor refused to grant her home confinement despite guarantees from a senior rabbi in Moscow’s Jewish community that she would not flee, Yaffa Issachar said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the possibility of a prisoner swap. “I will leave this without comment, this relates to the content of bilateral contacts, which we do not publish unlike other countries,” Peskov told reporters on a press call.