Russian President Vladimir Putin, shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Binya
Russian President Vladimir Putin, shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister BinyaReuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin will consider pardoning Israeli Naama Issachar - Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced on the local RT network.

Peskov announced that a request had been received from Israel to grant amnesty to Issachar, who was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison after being caught with cannabis at the Moscow airport.

"We know that Netanyahu's request was received. Once it gets through the diplomatic channels, it will be considered by the Russian president," the Kremlin spokesman said.

Yesterday, Israeli Preisdent Reuven Rivlin sent a letter to Putin asking him to release Issachar.

President Rivlin’s letter:

“Your Excellency, As a friend of the Jewish People and of the State of Israel, I am writing to you concerning Naama Issachar. Naama made a grave mistake and has admitted her crime, but in the case of a young woman with no criminal record, the severe sentence handed down will have a deeply destructive impact on her life," Rivlin wrote.

"The Jewish People and the State of Israel are grateful for your sensitivity to human life and for your willingness to endanger the lives of your soldiers to locate and return the body of IDF soldier Zachary Baumel, of blessed memory. Because of the particular and individual circumstances of Naama Issachar’s case, I am appealing to your mercy and compassion with a request for your personal intervention to grant her an extraordinary pardon.”