Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting with Naama Issachar’s mother, Yaffa Issachar. Click to see full-size
On January 27th, the Kremlin confirmed that an Israeli citizen, Naama Issachar, sentenced in Russia to seven and a half years in prison for a drug smuggling, filed a petition for pardon with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced that the petition was filed.
“We know that [Issachar’s pardon] appeal addressed to the head of state is ready,” Peskov said “Currently, the necessary legal procedures are being carried out for the president to make a decision on this matter in the near future.”
Prior to that, on the same day, the Moscow commission for pardons unanimously approved the release plea by the Israeli-American woman imprisoned in Russia on drug smuggling charges.
“We received Naama’s plea for pardon today. She partially admits her guilt. But she pleads not guilty on smuggling charges. She had no such malicious intent. Hence, after considering her character reference from the prison, which is positive, the commission took a decision to satisfy this plea for pardon,” said Ekaterina Semyonova, the commission’s deputy chairperson, TASS reported.
The request went to the Moscow region governor, Andrei Vorobyev on January 28th, but just in case she submitted it to Russian President Vladimir Putin as well.
Immediately after receiving it, the Governor of Moscow Andrey Yuryevich Vorobyov signed Naama Issachar’s pardon request.
Issachar, 27, was sentenced by Russia to 7.5 years in prison after nearly 10 grams of marijuana were found in her luggage during a layover in a Moscow airport in April 2019. She denied smuggling drugs, noting she had not sought to enter Russia during the layover on her way to Israel from India, and had no access to her luggage during her brief stay in the Russian airport.
Issachar’s mother met on January 23rd with Putin. She said the Russian leader told her he would return her daughter home.
This would be a precedent, as no Russian President has ever granted a pardon to a foreign-citizen convict.
In December, a Russian court rejected Issachar’s appeal, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he remained optimistic she would be released soon.
According to Israeli media, Russia has asked Israel to transfer a piece of Russian Orthodox Church property near the Old City of Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre to the Kremlin, as a goodwill gesture ahead of Issachar’s release.
In separate reports, Israeli media alleged that Russia wanted to exchange Issachar’s freedom for that of Aleksey Burkov, a 29-year-old Russian citizen, who pleaded guilty to running a website that helped people commit more than $20 million in credit-card fraud. But this falls entirely in the area of speculation.
Regardless of what the situation around the possible pardon is, this is an interesting case. Naama Issachar evidently carried drug in her luggage and was detained for it. But she may be released, because of the good relations between Russia and Israel.
A detention at a Russian airport due to individuals carrying small amounts of drugs (in the area of 1-2 grams of cannabis) are not uncommon. Then, does Issachar’s possible release create a precedent that all of these foreigners and, also, Russian citizens should be released?
Since carrying 1-2 grams of a light drug is a much less of a crime than carrying 10 grams of drugs. The Israeli national, a proven and convicted criminal is about to be released, due to the efforts of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and their conversations with Putin who visited Israel on January 23rd and spoke with them, in addition to Issachar’s mother.
And this Russian government tendency of selective justice doesn’t stop there.
It should be recalled that in September 2018, Israeli hostile actions above Syria led to the downing of a Russian IL-20 reconnaissance plane. All 15 people on board died.
The Russian military accused Israel for being responsible for the downing of the airplane, and provided ample evidence in the form of radar records and other information. Tel Aviv simply said it disagreed with Russia’s version of events and the entire situation faded into obscurity with no apparent action undertaken by the Russian government.
Moscow supplied the S-300 missile defense system to Syria, but it has never been effectively used, despite Israel frequently carrying out airstrikes on various positions in the country and despite numerous warnings by Russia that have led to nothing. Tel Aviv was allowed to carry out all of its actions, and Russia has since provided a bit of empty rhetoric and has undertaken no effective actions.
In comparison, in 2015, a Turkish F-16 fighter jet downed a Russian Su-24M attack aircraft. The weapon systems officer survived, the pilot was shot and killed by the “moderate rebels,” supported by Turkey near the border.
Ankara was immediately subject to heavy sanctions and diplomatic pressure from Russia. Later, Turkish policy towards the Russian presence in Syria dramatically shifted from being quite negative, towards being quite positive. Turkey began a close cooperation with the Syrian-Iranian-Russian alliance. Nonetheless, a part of the sanctions against Turkey remains in force.
So there is ample evidence of selective justice, which keeps happening, with reasons that are undisclosed and come down to speculation.
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Why such tendentious, biased title?!? “Russia’s Selective Justice Towards Israel“
“Issachar, 27, was sentenced by Russia to 7.5 years in prison after nearly 10 grams of marijuana…”
She wasn’t exactly Pablo Escobar with “nearly 10 grams of marijuana” !?
So obviously they have used it to get some favor from Israel and it is good news for Orthodox church!
“According to Israeli media, Russia has asked Israel to transfer a piece of Russian Orthodox Church property near the Old City of Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre to the Kremlin, as a goodwill gesture ahead of Issachar’s release”” So Russia and Orthodox church got their “church property” and probably great historic monument back instead of keeping her in prison on tax payers money for 7years! What can be possibly bad in all that?!?
Quit spamming you dumb arsehole.
I really don’t see the connection between the downing of an airplane and 10 gram of hashish. She’s not the first foreign-citizen to be granted presidential pardon, remember the 30 Greenpeace activists convicted in 2013? 7.5 years behind bars for such a crime it’s not justice, Russian law it’s clearly stuck on the failed war on drugs. Now about the s-300: they’re simply not enough batteries to cover all of the Syrian airspace and Israel’s planes are launching their missiles mostly from Lebanese airspace.
“connection between the downing of an airplane and 10 gram of hashish” It is narrow mindedly created contrast that tries to illustrate Russian would be double standards. Because article paints downing of Russian airplane as “Israeli hostile actions above Syria led to the downing of a Russian IL-20”. In my opinion it was US-NATO plan with Israeli participation from the start ..Since UK Eurofighters were near the scene of the crime as well. Russia have delivered S-300PM (as gift) to Syria in answer to that crime (since they didn’t have any hard proof against Israel or anybody else they didn’t do more).
NATO has found out that Syrian BUK in that region doesn’t have “friend or foe” system so they knew that Syrians will not be able to recognize airplane as Russian. They also knew Russian flying routine of that airplane so they fully took advantage of the situation. Syrians by trying to shoot down Israeli F-16 have shot down Russian plane because assumption is that Israelis were hiding deliberately behind Russian plane .
Fuck off Jew idiot.
Remember the first reports coming out about “French missile launches were detected”? You’re spot on the “would be double standard”, look at the Russian statement about Palestine in the UN, or the useless pilgrimages to the Kremlin by beggar Netanyahu (5 time last year alone?)
I think also… that US-NATO signature with Israeli participation is visible there. In carefully planned assassination of those young men they took care that “accident” doesn’t leave their traces on the crime scene. I am sure that Russia already knows by now, who did what. And I am sure that killers will pay for that sooner or later. Russia is trying to defend her position of neutrality and correct relations with everybody in Middle East, unless forced to act differently. I honestly don’t think that Russia can trust anybody there. That goes for literally everybody.
Russia is restricting their deployment. All 24 TEL’s and the targeting radars are at one central location which limits their ability to threaten targets on Syria’s periphery. If Syria had actual command and control over them they should be disbursed to cover more area. Israel doesn’t want this, nor the U.S. so the S-300’s remain a defense in name only. Syria’s problem is she doesn’t have the money to buy them on her own and the gift was more about something Russia needed to do as opposed to meeting Syria’s needs.
You sound like very informed and knowledgeable on military affairs.
its really disgraceful, especially after turkey shot down that Su-24, now putin and erdogan are lovers, SICKENING!!!! i wish putin would grow some REAL balls and be alot tougher on him and israel
Pardon for”nearly 10 grams of marijuana” is “sickening”!? That Orthodox church will get their property in Jerusalem back is probably “sickening” for you but very good news for any Orthodox Christian.
And what Turkey has to do with all that? you simpleton?!? She is Jewish not Turk citizen. Get Putin out of your filthy mouth finally and wash them first before you talk about him you Syrian deserter!
The Serbian Jew ZIONIST PUSSY is an idiot and laughable with pidgin English, I have fun with the Jesus freak LOL
I am glad that this will only help to some Russians and some TRUE pro-Russians to see your back stabbing and disrespectful attitude towards Russia.
For you Russia is just servant who should be “honored” to die for Shia ambitions!
All those Russians that have got killed in Syria are only appetizer while you dream of thousands of killed Russians and whole Russian army fighting for Iran and Shia dominance in Muslim world !
I can see through you!
It doesn’t matter what Russia does, nothing is ever good enough for you! You don’t see Russian lives as something valuable you want to fight every enemy to the last Russian !
South front is keen to jump that Russia bashing band wagon? Selective Justice?
The routine is so repetitive that I don’t see the point in calling it “selective”! It is not that they “select”anybody else among “allays” but Russia! So hell no! It is NOT “selective”… they have chosen Russian’s, Putin escape goat and bashing bag for ANY occasion! Nothing “selective” there if they always choose Russia as only candidate for being guilty.
And many of them does not take Putin’s “balls” out of their mouth either. Somehow the microscope is used for Russian “mistakes” while mistakes of others are never considered…
LEARN ENGLISH you dumb Jew fuck :)
Islamist excrement !
Putin is a self-serving corrupt fuck and hardly a great leader, the guy was lowly major in a worthless bureaucracy that failed miserably and the USSR broke up. Russia needs a real Russian to lead them, historically with the exception of Peter the Great, most Russian leaders have been complete fuckups. The Commies were the worst and most corrupt and Putin besides being a Jew is part of the KGB arsekissing system. The military GRU was much better and I met some really smart officers there.
You are against anybody who doesn’t serve interests of Iran and Shia Muslims and Russians are good enough ONLY if they fight for those interests! In your opinion you perfidious SNAKE Russia “needs real leader” that would fight only for Iranin interests while Iran is in bed with Turkey already! And Russia can be forgiven for being non- Muslim only if they fight for Shia interests of course! Putin can NOT be forgiven for being Russian patriot and seeking Russians INTERESTS ONLY !!
Russia betrayed ALL former friends and allied countries. Already the Viets turned back to you. So, shut up!
As usual you are just typically deluded Western MSM retard. If you think that US will ever have any kind of “friendship” with Vietnam… That just shows total absurd and delusion of decadent West. Russia is not USSR and has no ideological similarities with Vietnam but is still in good relations and sells them lots of weapons .
“Former friends” were often USSR ideological “friends” and Russia is capitalist now you retard… No reason to continue same Soviet story again. Things have changed. New situations,new friends and few old one too…
russia is shitland
Russia is THE country that makes possible collapse of Western imperialism. And nobody can stop Russia in that.
russian governments stop russia. always.
Good that you as an enemy think that way. Now go away.
Boy, russia = imperialism. If you dont see this, you are blind. the question is, how want an imperialistic ountry stop imperialism? :DD
Fuck off ! You are total moron !
:)))
no, i tell the truth. the truth, what for you, russians was always unsympathetic.
boyooo, last summer i was in russia. again. karelia, petrozavodsk, murmansk, severomorsk…. 4th world :(
Let me see… One neo-NAZI One Pole or Ukrainian And FOUR false Greek accounts in down vote. Yes indeed South Front is “keen” to do that. They should become another “Russian” Insider because today neo-NAZI stuff sells great. Jews absolute first in bashing (for reason) but Russians are second best.
Putin is a Jew arsekisser and not worthy of leading a great potential power like Russia.
European Shia big mouthed keyboard “fighter” spitting his regular poison. You have nothing to ponder about the interests of Russians when even the most blind among them see through your evil scheme!
For your kind of SNAKES Russians are good only as Christian canon fodder and if they ever (in your opinion) step back from that role you jump immediately to attack with your poison ready! You are ready to fight the Jews,Americans, IsraHELL, NATO and all others to the last Russian you filthy low life bastard! And anybody can see that just by reading your comments in last seven days (not needed more)!
Got ya Jew fuck. Now piss off ROFLMAO. No one can understand a word of your childish ignorant Shit.
I hate you guts you filthy Shia Anti-Russian asshole!
a collection of false equivalences and non-sequiturs….an article designed for the 8 yr mind
There is definitely betrayal towards Russia among some Muslim and non-Muslim “allays” here on the forum. It is backstabbing reflex that never goes away. Extremely high expectations from some Muslims that Russia will nuke everything that moves if only they lift their finger. And if Russia dears not to do that, than very harsh words can be heard against Russia.
Since Russia is the only guilty party in every situation. They even permit themselves to take hypocrite morala high ground for bashing Russia.
Only because in the “opinion” of this BIASED anti-Russian article Russia has inflicted damage to herself by applying alleged “double standards”. So the Putin-Russia haters “horrified” jump on the occasion for some more bashing (as usual)