PM Netanyahu says he’s asked Putin ‘many times’ to pardon marijuana-smuggling Israeli

Yaffa Issachar, the mother of a young Israeli woman imprisoned for smuggling marijuana into Russia, on Wednesday said she has full faith that there will be a miracle and her daughter will soon be released.

At a Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony at the Israeli Embassy in Moscow, Issachar said: “I believe with complete faith that the miracle will happen and Naama will be released home this holiday.”

Also on Wednesday, Israeli President Binyamin Netanyahu told Army Radio that “the entire ruling was absurd and it has no place.”

“I hope that [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin will utilize his right to grant pardon,” he added. I have requested this of him many times. I am committed to bringing her [home] – and I will bring her [home].”

During that interview, Netanyahu emphasized that if it were not for his close personal relationship with Putin, Israel and Russia would probably be at war.

Last week, sources close to Netanyahu emphasized that he is working to bring Naama home, but that the process will take time.

Earlier this year, Naama Issachar was sentenced to 7.5 years in a Russian prison for possessing 9.6 grams of marijuana while passing through a Moscow airport.

In October, Naama asked her mother told Galatz, “Mom, why do I need a pardon? That means I’m a criminal and I’m not.”

However, though she claimed to have “no idea” how the drug got into her bag, Naama was recorded telling her friend that she’s “in much bigger trouble” than the two had hoped for. She has also claimed that she never confessed to the smuggling attempt.