A Russian committee will convene at 4:00 p.m. Monday to consider a pardon request submitted Sunday by an Israeli-American woman jailed in Russia for drug smuggling.
The committee is scheduled to weigh in on the request for a presidential pardon submitted Sunday morning by attorneys working on behalf of Naama Issachar, a 26-year-old dual Israeli-American citizen who was arrested last April during a layover in Moscow, after more than nine grams of marijuana were found in her luggage.
Issachar was tried and convicted of drug smuggling, despite her claims she was unaware of the marijuana found in her luggage. She was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison.
After an appeal was rejected, Naama’s mother, Yaffa, along with senior Israeli authorities, lobbied Russian President Vladimir Putin to intervene on Naama’s behalf.
Monday’s hearing comes after Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Tatiana Moskalkova, backed Issachar’s pardon request.
Last week, Putin signaled that he would be receptive to a request for a presidential pardon, telling Yaffa Issachar that “Everything will be fine”.
Later, a Kremlin spokesperson said that it was waiting for a formal request for a pardon to beginning deliberations on the issue.