Rivlin appeals to Putin: Grant clemency to Israeli jailed on drug charges

President Reuven Rivlin appeals to his Russian counterpart Vladimiar Putin to grant a pardon to a young Israeli woman jailed in Russia for seven and a half years in jail for drug offences.

Naama Issachar, 25, was arrested in April while in transit in a Moscow airport, en route from India to Israel, and accused of carrying 9 grams of cannabis, her family said. Russian authorities charged her with drug smuggling.

"Naama erred in her actions and has admitted it, and yet is a young girl with no criminal record and the severe punishment to which she was sentenced will have a devastating impact on her life," Rivlin wrote in a letter to Putin.

"Due to Naama's special and personal case, I appeal to you and ask for your personal intervention so that she can receive a pardon out of compassion."