The case of Naama Issachar, an Israeli woman who has been sentenced to 7.5 years in a Russian prison after she was detained in Moscow earlier this year when several grams of cannabis were found in her luggage, continues to become more complicated.
It is believed that the heavy punishment for Issachar's drug offense was designed to pressure Israel into not handing cybercriminal Alexei Borkov, who is detained in Israel, over to the Americans. Borkov was arrested while visiting Israel in 2015 after Israeli authorities saw an Interpol alert. He is wanted in the US on suspicion of hacking US credit card databases and sharing the details.
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Former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked signed an order to extradite Borkov to the US. The process required a court review, then a follow-up extradition order.
According to reports, the Russians proposed a prisoner swap this past summer, which Israel rejected due to legal difficulties and a disinclination to refuse an American extradition request.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly discussed the proposed prisoner exchange deal at a meeting in Sochi on Sept. 12, but Netanyahu explained that Israel could not do what Russia wanted.
"The authorities in Israel have been active regarding Issachar throughout her detention. Israel has delivered a clear message: The punishment being demanded by the Russian prosecutor is disproportionate and does not fit the nature of the offense being attributed to Issachar," a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office on Friday read.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu requested a commuting of the sentence and an easing of the terms of Naama's detention. To our regret, the Russian prosecution has not yet accepted these requests," the statement continued.
On Saturday, it appeared likely that Israel would buck the Russian pressure and extradite Borkov to the US.
Sources in the legal system told Israel Hayom that Borkov's request to be returned to Russia was "thin and baseless from a legal perspective." The same sources also said that Israel and the US had long been cooperating on the extradition of criminals held in either country and "it was unreasonable to ruin those ties in the current circumstances."
Meanwhile, Israel Hayom has also learned that Russia's ambassador to Israel, Anatoly Viktorov, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to clarify developments. During the meeting, Viktorov was informed of Israel's displeasure at how Russian authorities were treating Issachar.
In April, Issachar, 26, was caught by Moscow airport security staff with 9.5 grams of cannabis in one of her suitcases. She was jailed for approximately six months and on Friday a Russian court sentenced her to 7.5 years in prison.
Issachar's relatives gave interviews on Friday and expressed their horror at the young woman being held as a bargaining chip. Issachar's mother, Yaffa, told Israel Hayom: "I'm horrified. It was a sham trial. It was just a big show. It's not [about] nine grams of drugs, it's about a battle between two countries, and look how long my daughter will have to pay the price."
Yisrael, Issachar's uncle, said after her sentence was announced, "After the developments of the past few hours, we aren't surprised at the punishment. Now we know who the enemy is. Until now we didn't know why the case got so complicated.
"Now we know why and it will be easier for us. Thus far, we've focused on the amount of drugs she supposedly had, but now everyone understands that that wasn't the issue. Everything is out in the open. The girl is a hostage," the worried uncle said.
