Russian President Vladimir Putin could pardon Naama Issachar, a 26-year-old American-Israeli backpacker jailed in Russia over an alleged attempt to smuggle some 10 grams of marijuana, ahead of his visit to Israel in late January.
The report came from the Russian Kommersant newspaper on Thursday, citing sources in the Russian government. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that progress had been made on the matter in a phone call with the Russian leader.
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Kommersant also said that the Russian authorities were "disappointed and irritated" that Israel went on with extraditing Russian hacker Alexei Burkov, who was arrested in Tel Aviv in 2015, facing cybercrime charges in the US.
Issachar was handed a 7.5-year sentence by a Moscow court after some 10 grams of cannabis was allegedly found in her luggage as she flew from India to Israel via Moscow.
Appealing the sentence, Issachar claimed that she had been unaware of the drugs, suggesting they may have been planted in her luggage and said that she was interrogated without a translator and was forced to sign a confession in Russia, a language she does not speak.
While the appeal has been unsuccessful, Issachar 's team pledged to appeal the sentence again, with her family threatening to disrupt Putin's visit to Israel, slated for January 23.
Netanyahu has pledged to bring Issachar back home and said he was optimistic she would be released.
This article was originally published by i24NEWS.
