World
Mother of Jailed Israeli Backpacker Hopes for Russia Pardon
- Putin hinted at Naama Issachar release last week in Jersualem
- Mother met Russian president during his trip to Israel
Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Yaffa Issachar during a meeting in Jerusalem on Jan. 23.
Photographer: Alexey Nikolsky/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images
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The mother of an Israeli woman imprisoned on drug-smuggling charges in Russia said she’s hopeful President Vladimir Putin will pardon her daughter.
Naama Issachar, a 26-year-old U.S.-born Israeli army veteran, was sentenced in October to 7 1/2 years for carrying a small amount of hashish in her luggage on a transit flight via Moscow after a backpacking trip to India. Her plight has become a cause celebre in Israel, where it’s widely seen as politically motivated.