Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov has signed a recommendation to grant pardon to Israeli national Naama Issachar, serving a prison term in Russia for drug trafficking, the regional government told Sputnik on Tuesday.
"Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov has signed a recommendation by the regional commission to grant pardon to Israeli national Naama Issachar", the regional government said.
The Moscow region's human rights commissioner said on Monday that Issachar had submitted a petition for pardon after admitting she had transported drugs but for her own use, not trafficking.
The Israeli citizen was sentenced to 7.5 years in a penal colony for drug possession and trafficking.
Issachar was detained in April at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow. Police officers found almost ten grams of hash in her backpack, which, according to the woman, she was transporting for personal purposes. Cannabis is partially decriminalised in Israel, but it is illegal in Russia and possession of it is a punishable crime. The penalty has been harshly criticised in Israel as "disproportionate" since the amount of drugs found was allowed for personal use in Israel.
