By Canadian Press

Putin pardons Israeli woman jailed in Russia on drug charges

Jan 29, 2020 | 10:32 AM

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin has pardoned an Israeli woman who had been jailed on drug charges, the Kremlin said Wednesday.

A presidential decree pardoning Naama Issachar on “humanitarian principles” was effective immediately, the Kremlin said.

The 26-year-old backpacker was arrested in April at a Moscow airport, where she was transferring en route from India to Israel.

Russian authorities said more than nine grams of hashish were found in her luggage. She was convicted and sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed to Putin to pardon Issachar. He’s to visit Moscow Thursday to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan with Putin.

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On a visit to Israel last week, Putin met with Issachar’s mother and told her, “Everything will be alright.”

Putin’s decree followed Issachar’s petition for a pardon.

Last week, Israeli media linked Issachar’s possible pardon with the reported decision to pass control of the Alexander courtyard in Jerusalem’s Old City to Russia. Russian officials denied any connection.

The Alexander courtyard, which was bought by Russia in 1859, is meters from Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It is one of several Jerusalem properties Moscow claims, and the dispute over it has been a source of friction between the usually friendly Israel and Russia.

The Associated Press