Israeli backpacker sentenced to 7.5 years in Russia for smuggling 9 grams of marijuana

Israeli backpacker sentenced to 7.5 years in Russia for smuggling 9 grams of marijuana | Secret Flying

Israeli American backpacker sentenced to more than seven years in prison.

 

An Israeli woman has been sentenced to 7.5 years in a Russian jail after being caught carrying 9.6 grams of marijuana when transiting through Moscow Airport.

 

Naama Issachar, 25, was arrested in April when flying from New Delhi to Tel Aviv with a layover in the Russian capital.

 

Whilst transiting, a police dog alerted officers to the 9.6 grams of marijuana in her luggage.

 

During the trial, Issachar reportedly pleaded not guilty to the drug smuggling charges but did not deny that the cannabis in her bag was hers.

 

She was found guilty of drug smuggling and subsequently sentenced to 7.5 years.

 

Her family says she is being excessively punished to pressure Israel into freeing a Russian hacker held in Israel on a US extradition request.

 

Alexei Borkov was arrested by Israeli authorities in 2015 who were acting on an Interpol red notice after the Russian allegedly hacked credit card databases of American citizens and then shared those credit card details online.

 

The Kremlin repeatedly demanded that Israel release Borkov, but the Israeli government refused to do so.