A Russian pardon commission recommends releasing an Israeli-American woman jailed in the country for marijuana charges, in a case that has stoked public interest across the globe and drawn in the leaders of both Israel and Russia.
Naama Issachar earlier this week filed her request for a pardon after Russian President Vladimir Putin promised her mother that she will be released soon.
The pardon commission’s decision is seen as a rubber stamp ahead of an announcement by Putin that he is pardoning Issachar.
Earlier today, the Kremlin said the Russian leader will be making a decision in her case “in the near future.”
Issachar, 27, was sentenced by Russia to 7.5 years in prison after nearly 10 grams of marijuana were found in her luggage during a layover in a Moscow airport in April.
She has denied smuggling drugs, noting she had not sought to enter Russia during the layover on her way to Israel from India, and had no access to her luggage during her brief stay in the Russian airport.
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 27, 2020
