Yaffa Issachar, the mother of Naama Issachar, who last week was sentenced to 7.5 years in Russian prison for cannabis possession, met with Justice Minister Amir Ohana, during which it was made clear to her that the minister’s “hands are tied” with respect to a prisoner swap deal involving Russian hacker Alexei Burkov that could enable Naama to return to Israel.
According to Channel 13, Yaffa left the meeting heavyhearted, after understanding that Burkov’s extradition to the United States would apparently take place.
In addition to a request to extradite Burkov to the United States, there is also a request to extradite him to Russia. Burkov's extradition to Russia may allow Israeli citizen Naama Issachar to be return to Israel as part of a prisoner exchange deal.
Minister Ohana is the official who is supposed to make a final decision on the extradition request under the law, but according to the Supreme Court's prior ruling that Burkov may be extradited to the US, the discretion given to him is very limited.