Legal Procedures Underway Regarding Issachar's Pardon Petition - Kremlin

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Legal procedures are underway regarding the pardon petition by Israeli woman Naama Issachar, serving a prison term in Russia for drug trafficking, they are necessary for President Vladimir Putin to make a decision on the issue as soon as possible, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday.

"We know that this personal petition to the head of state has been written. Currently, the necessary legal procedures are being carried out so that in the near future the president could make his decision on this issue", Peskov said when asked whether Issachar's petition for pardon was received and when the president would decide on it.

According to the lawyers representing the Israeli citizen, she previously asked Putin for pardon.

Naama Issachar

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Issachar was detained in April at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow. Police officers found almost ten grams of hash in her rucksack, which, according to the woman, she was transporting for personal purposes.

While Israel partially decriminalised cannabis, Russian drug laws are way more severe, so she was sentenced to 7.5 years in a penal colony for drug possession and smuggling.