Mother of Israeli jailed in Russia arrives at prison for visit

MOSCOW - The mother of an Israeli woman jailed in Russia on drug charges arrived Monday afternoon at the prison where 26-year-old Naama Issachar is serving her seven-year sentence.

Yaffa Issachar took with her a letter to her daughter, explaining why it had not been possible to secure her release and why she was serving such a harsh sentence, which some have speculated is a ploy by Moscow to press Israel into releasing a Russian set to be extradited to the U.S.

"I'm sorry we didn't know why your defense team made allegations and put you on the witness stand, and at the same time the Russian judge was playing with his phone and disregarding (events)," she wrote.

"It seems we didn't know, and everyone else did. I promise you that I will fight your incarceration together with all your friends in Israel and get you out of there soon."