TEL AVIV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th January, 2020) Israeli President Reuven Rivlin thanked Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Wednesday for pardoning a US-born Israeli woman, Naama Issachar, who was imprisoned near Moscow on drug-smuggling charges.
"So happy to get the news of President Putin's decision to pardon Naama, and I thank him for the wisdom and mercy of the decision," he tweeted.
The president thanked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his "praiseworthy" efforts to secure the 26-year-old's release.
The foreign minister of the Jewish state, Israel Katz, joined in the praise of Putin's decision. He emphasized the role of Netanyahu's "personal contacts" with the Russian president in freeing Issachar.
Yaffa Issachar, the woman's mother, said in a statement shared with Sputnik by her aide that she had gone a long way toward seeing her daughter released and only wished to hug her at this point.
"I would like to thank Russian President Vladimir Putin for showing compassion and his positive response to my daughter's plea to return to Israel," she wrote.
The dual US-Israeli citizen was found with 0.3 ounces of cannabis during a layover at a Moscow airport last April while she was on her way from India to Israel. She was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison.
