Rivlin welcomes release of Israeli jailed in Peru over suspected drug smuggling

President Reuven Rivlin welcomes the release to house arrest of Hodaya Monsonego, arrested approximately nine months ago in Lima for her alleged involvement in an attempt to smuggle a large amount of cocaine from Peru to Israel.

“Thank you to the Peruvian authorities for their response to my request regarding Hodaya Monsonego. I hope this is a step towards her full release soon,” Rivlin says in a tweet.

In February Rivlin wrote a letter to the president of Peru, Martín Vizcarra, asking him to grant clemency to Monsonego, who suffers from “medical issues and has been diagnosed with limited cognitive ability” which impairs her judgment, according to a statement sent out by the president’s office. Rivlin stressed that the young woman has no previous criminal record and that it is “reasonable to believe that her unique condition…led her to be involved in the alleged matter unintentionally.”