An Israeli woman jailed in Belarus for cannabis possession was released Thursday, and is returning home to Israel.
Maya Reiten-Stoll was arrested at the airport in Minsk in early November, after airport officials found two-and-a-half grams of cannabis in her bag.
Lawyers for Reiten-Stoll said she was taking the cannabis medicinally and had approval to use the drug, while relatives said she had brought the cannabis with her by mistake.
Reiten-Stoll’s release comes after senior Israeli leaders, including President Isaac Herzog, Finance Minister Avidgor Liberman, and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid worked with authorities in Belarus to return Reiten-Stoll to Israel.
Lapid spoke with Reiten-Stoll and her family Thursday evening ahead of her return to Israel.
Earlier this week, President Herzog spoke with the President of Belarus, the president's office said Thursday night.
"The conversation was short and focused, and the President wished his counterpart a Happy Novy God and a Happy New Year. In their conversation, President Herzog raised the humanitarian matter of Maya Raiten. It must be emphasized that no promise was made and there was no discussion whatsoever of anything in exchange, either directly or indirectly, and any reports to the contrary are mendacious and contemptible."